Doeke van Nuil

Department: Contextual Design
Website: www.doekevannuil.com

How to Overcome the Fear of Failure

These ceramic creatures are Doeke van Nuil’s visualisation of his attempts to create them. Moving from a BA in illustration to an MA in Conceptual Design, Van Nuil observed a significant difference between the two disciplines. In his view, illustrators often use visual storytelling to talk about struggles and failures, whereas design has a tendency to guide people towards a clean and finished notion of success. But who ever achieved success without failing first?
Changing from stylus and screen to ceramics as a mode to express himself, Van Nuil came to reconsider all the stages of creating. Working with this volatile material gave him a new naivety and created room for both disappointment and breakthrough. In shaping these figurines he embraces any mistakes and lets them reflect his confusion, questions, pleasure and surprise. How to Overcome the Fear of Failure demonstrates what people can gain from allowing for failed attempts and serves as an inspiration to try fearlessly.