About
Corignal

How Storytelling Brought Corignal to Life

By Shah Rukh Sheikh

I found my passion for design early on—much earlier than most kids in my neighborhood.

While others played cricket under the scorching Karachi sun, I’d be inside, pencil in hand, sketching characters from Cartoon Network. Courage the Cowardly Dog, The Powerpuff Girls, and my all-time favorite, Ben 10—every alien, every line, I drew them all. My room was a chaos of half-finished sketches and eraser shavings.

Every birthday, I asked for just one thing: a new drawing book and fresh colors. By the time I turned 12, I had so many that people joked, “You could open a shop now!” [chuckles]

But by 2012, reality started creeping in. I was in 10th grade, and coming from a middle-class family, we couldn’t afford a fancy PC or premium art tools. Smartphones weren’t common, and YouTube tutorials were still out of reach. Design wasn’t seen as a career—it was a hobby. Fun, but not practical.

Like many in South Asia, I felt the pressure to pick a “secure” path. So I did.

In 2018, I graduated in Economics from Karachi University and landed a solid job at a bank. By 2019, I was making Rs. 80,000 a month—a great salary by most standards.

But inside, I felt hollow.

Every night, I’d lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if this was it. Spreadsheets? Targets? Meetings?

Was that all?

Deep down, I still believed design had potential. That maybe, just maybe, I could make a career out of it. But fear held me back. What if I failed? What if I let my family down?

So I started small.

After work, I stayed up late teaching myself. Courses, YouTube videos, books—I consumed everything I could. I became obsessed with branding, especially how perception shapes a business. I practiced until my eyes burned from the screen.

Then, in 2021, everything changed.

Through social media, I discovered Extreme Commerce by Sunny Ali—Pakistan’s largest eCommerce platform. Visiting their center felt like walking into a different world. People there were ambitious, creative, hungry.

And that’s where I got my first break.

Someone needed a designer for their Amazon brand. They heard my story—and gave me a shot. That one chance changed my path forever.

Looking back now, I realize:

Maybe God was with me all along.

With shaking hands and a racing heart, I made the boldest decision of my life:

I quit my job. I let go of my degree.

And I jumped, full-time, into design.