We were lucky to catch up with Karla Pámanes recently and have shared our conversation below.
Karla, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Then my dad passed away in 2020 and that was when I hit rock bottom. I was in my hometown in Mexico quarantining with them when it happened. I was lucky to have spent time with him and even celebrate Father’s Day together for the first time in 15 years since I left for college in the United States.
I loved that I could be there for my mom and help her during this difficult time. So I started to look for a remote position. However, after interviewing for an agency, I realized that I not only wanted location freedom, I also wanted time freedom. I felt sick to my stomach thinking I had to be on my computer from 9-5 pm. I needed to have the flexibility to be able to be there for my family first and choose my projects and my clients.
So that’s when I made the big scary decision to no longer extend my unemployment and go full-time in my design business. It has been the best decision I have made in my career.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Of course! I am Karla Pámanes and I am an award-winning designer and branding expert based out of San Antonio, Texas. I have designed for brands like BRIT + CO, Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, Facebook (now Meta) and more.
The best part of my job is meeting people who have big ideas that they feel passionately about. I love that I get to use my skills as a designer to help them translate those ideas into a dynamic brand that inspires people to take action. The brand identity design I do for my clients gives them premium positioning in a global marketplace that’s becoming more and more crowded by the day. My process focuses on capturing the distinctive personality of the brands I work with so they can make waves in their industry. The world doesn’t need any more boring design!
When I’m not working on brand identities for my clients, I am working with aspiring designers as a mentor. I created a signature design course to share the knowledge I’ve collected from my 15+ years of experience in the corporate, agency, and freelance world. I talk to people all the time who are drawn to the design world but aren’t sure whether they’re ready to pursue it. These conversations inspired me to dedicate more of my time and energy to design mentorship!
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Going back to my early years when I was learning graphic design I would have LOVED to have a mentor. I had talented professors, but there was never enough 1:1 time in the classroom. I often turned to my peers who were a little ahead of me and they helped me improve my skills the most. I created The Brand Design Academy to be the mentor I wished I had when I was first starting my career, and I’m always so excited when I receive feedback that someone has booked their first design client or put together a portfolio they’re proud of after taking the course.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.karlapamanes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karla.pamanes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karla.pamanes
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlapamanes/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/karla_pamanes