Designing with fear
Embracing fear in your creative process
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My dream was fulfilled when I received the letter I could attend the part-time graphic design course at the art academy. The school director stated proudly I’d step in the footprints of many famous designers. 6 months later I felt like a failure for trying. Even my teachers almost gave up on me. Was it the lack of planning? Or was I scared to take on new challenges? It got me thinking. After doing some soul searching I concluded... I’m a sissy.
That shitty semester was the best learning experience I’ve ever had.
Your inner indicator
Saying you’re anxious as a designer probably won’t land you a job (although it should). Yet, all designers deal with insecurity at some point. Will the concept work out as you have in mind? Or maybe worse, you have no idea what you’re doing yet. At these moments it’s not only your brain that is talking to you. It’s your whole body that’s giving you signals.
The ability to perceive the physiological condition of the body is called interoception. It’s that pounding heartbeat you experience when speaking in public, or that nasty nervous feeling in your stomach. These feelings can knock you off your feet. Or you can put them to work as your best indicator.
“If I don't get that crappy feeling in my stomach when designing, I know I'm doing something boring.”
In Stefan Sagmeister’s great talk about ‘Happiness and Design’ at Reasons ’13 he told about this Brazilian guy with whom he did a workshop. He (let’s call him Pedro, k?) told Stefan about the crappy feeling he gets when doing design work. If he doesn't, he knows he’s doing something ‘boring’.
This was the same feeling I experienced during the second semester in which I challenged myself to the max. Really committing myself to do new things scared me. I was completely out of my comfort zone and I desperately hoped I’d grow over it by the time I get my degree. But Pedro made me think differently. The two things I derived from his sayings were:
- Actively seek for that crappy feeling
People normally tend to avoid discomfort. But Pedro actively seeks and uses it as an indicator if he’s challenging himself enough. - Doing things you’re already comfortable in doing is less satisfying
Nothing is as sweet as solving problems you didn’t know you were capable of. Avoid techniques you’re already comfortable with.
Knowing this I began to work differently. For one project for example, I tried to projectmap myself onto myself. Not knowing what the outcome would be, plus the huge time pressure (it had to be finished in one day), of course resulted in anxiety. But I now realized it was ok.
Training your mental stamina
Reserving a place for fear in your creative process is not easy, and it requires training your mental stamina. Here are a couple of things to hold on to:
- In every project there will be this moment where you think you’re the worst designer on the planet.
Don’t let it go to your head. Believe in that there’s a solution in every project. Haven’t discovered it yet? Keep trying and be confident that you will force a breakthrough. - This fear has a good cause
It’s because you’re exceeding your creative borders. And that’s exactly how good designers become awesome overtime. Embrace it.
“In every project there will be this moment where you think you’re the worst designer on the planet.”
It’s all worth it
Design scares the shit out of me at times. I find myself gazing at the dark, trying to come up with a concept. Or I feel like shit while working on a design that’s nothing like I had in mind. But being aware of my fears and insecurities and knowing how to deal with them have been invaluable. I managed to take vengeance by nailing the second semester. I'm a more anxious designer than ever, but the reward and personal gratification is definitely worth it.
