Welcome to Source Material, a weekly series where the designers and creatives shaping culture share the references that shaped them. Our next guest is Marisa Chentakul (@meshtimes), a New York–based creative technologist whose playful projects span design, development, and art.After the shoot, we caught up with Marisa about her creative process:What were you making when you realized, “This could be my job”?When I was trying to get into fashion, I was making websites to show my textile work and apply for jobs, and at some point I was like: Wait, I think I like making the website more than the actual portfolio. At the time, I had no idea that “product designer” was even a job, but I accidentally designed my way into it.What’s the first thing you do when you sit down to work?I have to gaslight myself into thinking no one else exists. There are so many people who are better at so many things than I am, and if I think about that for too long, I’ll never make anything. So I put my blinders on and just do my thing. Comparison can come back when I’m done.What’s a design object you’d take to your grave?Probably my cyberdeck. So many tears were shed making that stupid little computer. It barely works sometimes, it’s completely imperfect, and I’m way too emotionally attached to it, but it was one of the first things I made purely because I wanted it to exist. She’s my prized possession now.Whose work makes you jealous?Nicole McLaughlin! I love her ability to stay focused on her own world and block out all the noise and trends around her. Her work always feels unmistakably hers. To me, she’s a true artist, and I’m jealous of that kind of clarity.What current design trend are you tired of seeing?Honestly, taste policing. I’m tired of people talking as if there’s one correct version of good taste, or dismissing someone else’s work as “slop” because it doesn’t fit their idea of good design. Not every design has to be for everyone, and calling something “slop” doesn’t really tell us anything about why it works or doesn’t work. I’d rather ask whether something feels intentional, or recognize that maybe it just wasn’t designed for me.What rule do you break the most?Probably the design process. I don’t really do the whole “research, ideate, prototype, test” thing anymore, especially for my personal projects. I usually start with a question: Would this make someone smile? Would someone want to take a photo of this and send it to their friend? I think a lot about how something is going to live in the real world and how people will react to it.What song do you put on to get out of a creative rut?“Nanã” by Polo & Pan. It’s been my Most Listened To song on Spotify for three years in a row. I put it on whenever I’m on my way to make something: walking to a cafe, going to a makerspace, whatever. It makes me feel like I’m on a tiny creative mission.What’s a piece of feedback you resisted, and later realized was right?Show your work earlier.I’m so bad at this. I will hide something from everyone until I’ve stared at it for way too long and decided it’s finally safe to be perceived. I think I’m scared that if I show it too early, someone’s opinion will get in my head before I even know what I think about it myself.But unfortunately, everyone who told me to show things earlier was right. Sometimes I’m so deep in my own little world that I can’t see what’s confusing or not working anymore. I still hate doing it though!What’s a part of your process that most people don’t know about?Sometimes, I design backwards from the internet. Because so much of what I do also involves filming and making content, I’ll imagine the moment first. What’s the shot? What would make someone stop scrolling? I’m not just designing the object; I’m thinking about the little life it might have after I put it out into the world.What’s the last thing you came across that made you want to go make something?I recently went to the Iris van Herpen exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, and it broke my brain in the best way. Her work lives somewhere between fashion, science, engineering, and art, and some of the pieces literally move and feel alive.I left wanting to run home and make something immediately. I think my favorite kind of work is the kind you can’t put in one box. It makes my brain light up, and reminds me how much weird stuff there still is to make.Catch up on previous episodes of Source Material on YouTube.