This will likely not be what you want to hear, but logo design is not the easy path to a career that the amateurs and aspirants seem to think it is.
Logo design, in and of itself, is not really even a serious discipline. It is, in fact, just a part of branding.
As you have found, crowdsource sites do not deliver the easy riches they promise. Why? Because they are peddling snake oil. They are offering a service to both ‘designers’ (I use the term loosely) and clients that simply won’t work.
I am assuming you are uneducated, unqualified and inexperienced in design. If you are of the same mind as thousands of other people out there that design is a bit of a cool way to earn a living, give up right now and find another path.
However, if you have a genuine – and I mean genuine – passion for the subject. There is only one real route to achive that (well, there is a send, but more of that later). If, as you say, you are living off the beaten path, you will need to move to a city with a good university, find a job to fund yourself through it, get a place in that university and get yourself a solid degree. After that, probably four to five years of experience, working in the industry. Only at that point will you have a clue what you are doing. At that point you will realise why logo design, the way the current trend sees it, is not a thing.
The only other way is find an entry level job in the industry and learn the ropes for about a decade, then you might know enough to take on your own clients.
That’s it. No shortcuts. If you try and shortcut this, you’ll find yourself sat with an internet connection, some free design software in suburbia wondering why you can’t land any work.
No professionals would ever go to crowdsourcing sites for work. Therefore, serious clients will not be found there either.
Design is not about making pretty, generic logo pictures. It is about solving other people’s communication problems and visually communicating their message to a (usually) pretty specific target audience. Knowing how to do this takes years.
Sorry if this is harsh, but if you ignore this – and I won’t be alone on this forum with similar advice. Every seasoned pro will tell you something similar – you will end up bottom-feeding in the swamp of people who were good at art in school and who think design is an easy path to a cool career.
Finally, you have to have a talent for it in the first place, but the university entry process will take care of that. If you don’t, you won’t get a place. A good idea, would be a general foundation course at a local college first to give you an idea of where you want to go and whether you have an aptitude for it.
My suggestion would be to learn what you can locally, put yourself a portfolio together (we can help you with that in terms of critiquing the work you want to include), and, once you have, apply for universities. A local college would help guide you through the process.
Almost everyone who has successful career, moved from their hometown to go to university.
Do it, by all means (it can be a very rewarding career, though not necessarily an easy one), but do it the right way.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
