WATCH: Understanding The Digital Detox From Head Creator Donye Taylor
The Nuclei Founder shares with GU the mental weight of being a creative, and ways to give you brain the ultimate detox.
Transcript
00:00That is the importance about mental health and being a creative and being an artist is
00:05knowing that you are going to feel stuck more times than you want to admit, but
00:13Being stuck is not a bad thing like feeling like you don't have it all figured out is not a bad thing
00:18What's up to you? It's your content editor Danielle Wright here with Donyay Taylor to talk all things mental health awareness, nuclei, and giving your brain the ultimate digital detox.
00:38So Donyay, there has been many people that have watched your rise, but to anyone who's unfamiliar
00:45How did Donyay become the head creative of the digital world?
00:50So it's so crazy that you asked this and maybe the interview me subconsciously knowing I had an interview today. It made me reflect, but I was about to make this post on Instagram about creative etiquette.
01:05And it made me think about my first ever marketing job, which was in 2015 at this company called shoe city.
01:11I was working full time in college and I wasn't even majoring in anything dealing with creative creativity at the time. I was majoring in healthcare management at this time. I was still doing logos.
01:25I started in graphic design. So I was nowhere near where I am today. When I got this job in 2015, we were on a photo shoot and it was just so hot outside.
01:36And I was a little upset with one of the people I was working with. I didn't really say too many nice things, but it had got back to me that I was mean. She expressed to people that I work with that I was mean.
01:50And it made me feel so embarrassed and I apologized to her the next day. And from that point, people didn't really want to have me on set. And I made it a point to just no matter how talented or how naturally talented I knew that I was, that doesn't make an excuse for not being kind to people.
02:10So I think from there, I just kind of made it a point to like always marry my vision and just my ideas with really good intentions. And I think over time that just kind of blossomed.
02:26I created a name for myself and I think my energy was just really unique. But I think that and God and just having really good intentions about what I want to express to the world has gotten me to where I am today.
02:43When it comes to being a creative, I think that it's a job and a talent that has become widely accepted in recent years. When you were first starting, were there any creatives then that influenced you early on in your journey?
02:59The first, I would say, influencer. I wasn't an influencer at the time. It was just prominent figures on the Internet. I would say Kesha. She was an artist, I think, out of Brooklyn at the time. And I remember she did a collab with American Apparel.
03:18But before I saw her do the collab with American Apparel, I had followed her on MySpace. And we would have all of these really bold and distinctive designs. They were black and white. And I remember when she did the collab, that was what the collab was, her designs.
03:36And I think at that time, I was just like, damn, that's crazy. She really went from, and everybody was wearing American Apparel then. That was the it girl brand. So me being in high school and seeing somebody take something that is so distinctive of their DNA and then a brand like American Apparel, I'm like, damn, I got an American Apparel leotard right now. I'm about to go buy this.
04:01And the trickle down of art to major influence just made me be like, wow, that's so cool. And it's so raw to be able to do that at that level. And then after that, I would say celebrity, Kid Cudi, for sure.
04:22Kid Cudi was the first artist that I remember being a fan of, a real fan. I had to sneak to go to his, I'm whispering because my parents are here. I had to sneak to go to his concert in high school one day with somebody that they didn't want me to go with. But I was like, I need to see Kid Cudi. He coming to Maryland, I'm going.
04:41I have bought cement threes because he had them. I felt like all of his music was made directly for me. I know the feeling when somebody says, oh my God, I felt this. I know what that feels like. And that's why whatever I do, I try to evoke that same type of emotion.
05:02Whether somebody's reading a newsletter of mine or purchasing a product or looking at a photo of mine, I try to evoke that. I feel this energy. And even if you don't feel it, you could imagine that you feeling it.
05:13Just like any job, I think your mental health is always going to be at stake, especially when you're working. So this may be a two part question, but first part, how do you balance being a creative and then giving your brain a break?
05:29So the irony of this is that I low key had a mental low situation this morning where I was just feeling like spiritually and creatively constipated, to say the least.
05:45I just felt like I had so much and I just could not get it out. And I was talking to my aunt about this because I had a surgery two years ago where I had to get a cyst removed off of my ovary and she flew to L.A. to take care of me.
06:00But we always joke about how frustrated I was when I couldn't use the bathroom. So I told her that's how I feel to get her to understand me. And it made me realize now I'm fine. I had a bunch of meetings today. I got some work done. I was productive.
06:20And I think that is the importance about mental health and being a creative and being an artist is knowing that you are going to feel stuck more times than you want to admit. But being stuck is not a bad thing. Like feeling like you don't have it all figured out is not a bad thing.
06:40It then becomes a game of, OK, how can I take all of this energy? Because that energy feels really heavy. Like it can make you want to get dressed. It can make you want to cancel all your meetings, cancel a date, like not text your friend back. Like, that's how heavy that energy is. But when you feel it, you have the decision to be like, OK, do I want to put this energy into something that's going to be productive for me or do I want to stay in this state?
07:09And every time it's so hard to pick the other route, but you just have to. So I was like, you know what? I'm getting out of bed. I am going to act like that didn't happen, but still be aware, like still take.
07:24So I got on my laptop and I started just like dumping everything that was like making me feel clogged. So I put a section because right now I feel like I'm one of those people where the talents don't match the acknowledgement. And that is so, so, so frustrating when you want more for yourself as a creative.
07:49So I wrote down, OK, what am I good at? Then I was like, is this lucrative? Yes or no. How can I elevate this bucket? And me doing that, it makes me look at myself differently. And now I've taken that energy and I've turned it into a project for myself that I need to work on.
08:11So now I'm excited to like go through all that. But if I would have just stayed in the bed, cancel my meetings, cancel this interview, then I would still be in that state.
08:22Yeah, yeah. And I really like that you brought up that point because I think it's a perfect segue into my next question, which is with you being such a, in my opinion, a widely known creative, I think a lot of people utilize your brain all the time.
08:41It's like, oh, if we want this big, exaggerated project to look so great and to really become someone else's mood board, we have to get Donye. Like, I think your name is brought up all the time within brands and companies and publications because they're like, oh, Donye could just think of something.
09:01Yeah, literally. How do you it's like, how do you balance, you know, sharing your talent with publications with your relationship, but also keeping certain things for yourself?
09:19That's a really good question. So and it's hard for me to do that. I'm somebody like I'm very anti gatekeeper. Like I am the most non gatekeeper person. Like sometimes my friends get mad at you on my Instagram. Like, I don't care how many people I follow. Like, I like what I like and I share what I like. Like, it's just as simple as that.
09:43So because I'm like that, I have to be very protective of the clients that I take on, the people that I work with, because it can get very easy for me to get one taken advantage of. But two, it kind of becomes this battle between like supply and demand with your art.
10:03So you have to be very cautious of how you give it out, because if I was working with everybody and doing everything that was asked of me, then subconsciously my value as a creative would go down.
10:18So it's like you have to be it's like being a creative is like operating a spaceship and it's like all these different buttons and it's like that. If I do this and this is going to go down like and it's assessing which button is going to trigger what.
10:34So I just always follow my intuition when it comes to that. And I'm very self-aware of my capacity. Like, I'm to the point now where I'm like, you know what, I can't take that on. Like, yes, the check is nice, but I know that if I were to take that on, I would not do my best. I would not do a good job.
10:53So I just try to keep those things at the forefront. I ask myself, like, am I going to be able to do this extremely well? Is this going to affect my value? Is this going to make me feel like I am progressing on my journey? If all those three things are yes, then nine times out of ten, it's a yes. And it's very rare that it's all three most of the time.
11:17Yeah, yeah. I love that. So my next set of questions for you, I want to talk about not just Donye, but Donye the founder. I remember an interview that you did and you said something that honestly has stuck with me ever since I watched it. You made a comment about how when an idea is thought of, it's in the universe for anyone to take.
11:42I want to know how can creatives or for these creatives to be specifically talking about those who are in early college or even in, you know, middle school or high school, like how can they take that leap to start on that idea if they're feeling like they don't have whatever they need to start?
12:04Yeah. No, I think I understand you completely. And I'm sorry that that happened to you because it hit you right here where you just like, oh, my God, that's an indescribable feeling. So but it also like pushes you because it's like, man, the next thing you get the next light bulb, you're gonna be like, all right, I'm not playing. But I feel like when it comes to people feeling like they want to take the leap, but aren't really sure how.
12:34I just because it's times like that for me, like it's a bunch of things that I want to do or and have I have an idea for. But I just try to think of the smallest like appetizer version of that idea. So one of my dreams is to one day like have a column somewhere. I don't know if that's Washington Post, Time magazine, whatever.
12:57But I know that in the interim, I can start a newsletter and I can write things from my perspective. And that's genuine to me so that when I do have that or the opportunity does come, I have a track record to say, oh, like, this is what I have.
13:12So I think it's always something that you can do to prepare yourself for when you actually do get the chance to do your idea how you want it. But I do think in the interim, you should just try to think about the smallest like tiny molecule size of your idea that you can attack and put into motion. And then over time, like that momentum, it'll just build and build and build. And the next thing you know, you're going to have your idea.
13:42You are a creative person based on your lifestyle and how you think and like what you want from life and creative people just move differently. Like even you, like you took it upon yourself to create the role that you wanted. Like you saw all the little bite sized steps that you needed to take in order to get you to that point.
14:03So who you are is not based on where you work. Your job title is based on how you do things and how you show up in the amount of effort that you get. So we have to talk about your nuclei brand, particularly your first product, the Brain Bank. What is the backstory to making this product?
14:22Well, to be honest, I feel like every year because I'm I'm in that stage right now. And it's so crazy because around this time two years ago, I was in the same stage and I made nuclei. But I get bored. I get like sick of myself in the current state that I'm in. Like, I feel like I'm doing one thing too much. I'm doing not enough for something. And I'm like, I need to fill that gap with something.
14:49So around that time two years ago, I was I just didn't like how much I have put into the digital world, like just between content, my newsletter, even just the jobs that I had, like working in social media or like shooting campaigns that exist on the Internet. Like everything was so digital. And I felt like I did not have anything that existed in the physical.
15:17And I wanted to change that. I didn't know what it was going to be. I didn't I had thought about doing merch like my friends joke all the time. I do remember when you made that sample. I'm like, oh, my God, don't remind me. But I thought I was going to have level two merchandise like T-shirts, hoodies. But it got to a point where I'm like, OK, I'm settling. These are just things to do to scratch the itch.
15:44And I was just so inspired by my best friend, Elamide, who has a beauty brand. I'm like, wow, like that's something that's physical. And you're able to put your own creative spin on it with the campaigns, the casting, just everything. So that really challenged me to think of a product that was not, I would say, ordinary like merch was ordinary.
16:11And I had to think, like, what am I known for? Like what like what would something or what would somebody buy of Donye's that is physical? So for like three or four months, I was just like looking at everything that I was buying. I was forcing myself to buy physical things so that I would know why I was buying it. And then I was like, oh, duh, I could just sell my brain. People always want to buy my brain. I should just sell my brain.
16:41Going back to the idea thing, I was like, OK, how am I about to make a brain like I don't have any experience in product design, like nothing. So I had went on Alibaba, started searching people and I lost a lot of money.
17:03I'm not going to lie, because people were just not doing what I wanted them to do. Like I kept getting samples back wrong. It was just so bad. So then I went to like my archive on my phone. And I remember I took a screenshot of this ashtray that was like a little robot. And it was this girl named Kahini that had made like anything that like sparked something in me. I just screenshot and I know one day I'm gonna find it again.
17:30So I saw it and I was like, oh, like she did make this. Like, let me hear her up and see how she made this and let her know that I'm trying to do my thing. So I'm very honest and intentional. I'm like, hey, like I have this idea to turn my brain into a piggy bank. I have hit a roadblock. I let her know that I had tried on my own.
17:53And I did that because I hate when people ask me stuff and I feel like I was the first line of defense. It's like, why would I help you if you ain't even try to help yourself? So I let her know that I had been trying and I had hit a roadblock and she was just like, I'll help you like that. So I told her I was like, look, I ain't got that much money. She was like, it's okay. We doing it.
18:19So I sent her over the deck that I had that outline the product like I had crazy, crazy, crazy sketches. But I tried to include as many references as possible because I'm really particular. So I'm like, you need to know what I expect.
18:39So long story short, I think I had paid her like $1,500 as like a deposit of good faith. Like this is what I got right now. And she worked with me on building the brain bank for the entire year off that $1,500 until the first day of the drop. And then I was able to pay her what her worth was. But that's how that happened.
19:09Got it. I love that because I was very curious to why you chose a brain as your first product because I know this isn't the first product that you've released. You've also released I forgot what it was called, but I know it was like a like a workbook.
19:27Oh, it was. Wow. Okay. So big brain energy. I only made those ebooks because I needed money to invest in the manufacturing. Like that was one of those. My back is against the wall. Diane, girl, what you gonna do? So those ebooks like I put that much effort into because I'm like, rent is due. Like, I gotta pay these bills. But it was called big brain energy.
19:52But yes, yes. Based on the mental detox that I had took, to even think of nuclei and the product, like all of that stuff, like was the mental detox that I took for that. And even on the cover of the book is the render the first render that I ever got on my brain bank.
20:12I feel like that is such a like a huge foreshadow into what you are producing right now, especially for those of us who have been, again, like just watching your journey. Like, I feel like I feel like I just like heard a song and I know where the sample is from.
20:35So as a creative and even thinking back to big brain energy, what are a few things that you do to completely shut down? You're like, OK, I'm going to relax. I'm not going to think just vibes.
20:47Honestly, be with my man. My brain be off, my brain be off. Like, I love it because I feel like we all need that. Like, we all need that time where we can just exist and not have to worry about anything else. So, yeah, that's how I help shut off.
21:10But when he's not around or when I don't have him, honestly, let me see. I shut off a couple of ways. I like to do like mini vacations by myself. So I posted to TikTok before, but I was having a mini vacation in my car, in the parking lot of my favorite top spot, just listening to music, like just doing things that are not connected to anybody else or anything else other than my happiness. That's how I just shut off.
21:38So my last question for you is, what can we look forward to from Daniel in nuclei? Oh, OK. So when you said what you said about the foreshadowing, I was like, damn, like I can't even trick myself.
21:51But I have been working on a quiz while the quiz is done. But I got a psychologist and a software engineer to create the nuclei D, which is basically like a creative IQ quiz inspired by astrology.
22:08Astrology and like the big three, like people feel like when they know their big three, they're able to make decisions better, like they are more socially compatible with people because they're like, oh, like what's your rising and what's your whatever. But I just felt like creatives needed something like that.
22:27So I created a quiz is six questions, but based on it, it'll tell you what your idea is, a.k.a. your three creative traits that make you who you are. And based on your traits, you can see what type of creative roles you would be good at, what other creative traits you mesh well with and you collaborate well with and other prominent figures that have that same creative DNA.
22:55So it's not a physical product. It's more so of a digital tool. But I feel like your second product or your second launch is kind of like the second song on an album. It's almost just as important as the first one. But I feel like when the second song is like very different from the first one. At that point, you're like, all right, I don't know what I'm about to get. But this shit about to be good. So I'm gonna just keep playing.
23:22And I just wanted I felt like my I've gotten to where I am as a creative from giving out information and educating people and making people feel seen. So I feel like this product, it kind of bridges the gap.
23:41While also I wanted to spread like I want I want people like I want like in conversation, people to be like, oh, like, what's your nuclear ID? Like, oh, like, what's that? You know what I mean? I want it to I want it to exist in that way. And I want people to take pride in it. But that took it took a lot of work. I had no idea how it sounds simple.
24:05It's simple. But like, again, like getting to a brick wall and being like, I need a psychologist to like help me and to also give it validity. You know, I didn't go to school for any of this. I just had really good concepts. But I like when things are valid and have something to like stand on. So yeah, I love that.
24:26I love that. I think with you specifically and with your just overall self and your career journey, you do a really intriguing job. I think people always look at you as Donye the creative, but it's like you also bring in elements of psychology, elements of the brain and like you just use so much brainpower in everything that you do.
24:52And so I think, you know, for you, as we were building out our week, I felt like we just had to talk to you because and really just understand Donye outside of the creative, but like really just literally getting to the nuclei.
25:09Yeah, that whole name. So I used to when I went to college, I was first majoring in epidemiology. I've always loved science. But that's how different like diseases and things are transmitted. But I couldn't make it past calculus. So I was like, you know what, this ain't we ain't doing that. But nuclei is a plural form of the nucleus, which is the control center of a cell.
25:36It tells the entire cell what to do. So nuclei is kind of like me reimagining creativity as the nucleus and how so many people have so many different layers of creativity within them that controls everything like where they get their car or how they wear their hair, how they dress like that is what nuclei means to me and why I named it that.
26:01And on that note, I want to thank you Donye for chatting with us. And you guys can stay up to date on all of our mental health awareness coverage only on GU. Bye guys.