Rethinking Taste

Recently, I watched a talk on taste titled Craft and Beauty: The Business Value of Form in Function by Katie Dill. Around the same time, I also read a series of articles called On Taste by Julie Zhuo.

After going through both, I started summarizing the key ideas and insights. Soon after, I came across a blog post that did exactly that but more concisely and effectively. If you don’t feel like going through the original talk and articles, I’d recommend starting with this short summary instead: Developing Taste by Emil Kowalski

However, after reading Emil’s post, I felt there was room to extend the ideas further in a natural and meaningful way. Particularly drawing on perspectives from Katie Dill’s talk.

So, here’s my piece building on Emil’s article. I’d suggest reading his first, then continuing with mine¹ below.

Taste is not just visual

It’s easy to think taste is about how something looks. But it’s deeper than that. Taste shows up in how something works. In the flow, the structure, the small interactions. A well-designed product doesn’t just look clean, it feels clear. You know what to do without thinking too much.

This is why better aesthetics often lead to better usability. Not just because they look good, but because they help you understand the product faster.

Taste exists in layers

You can’t fix taste only on the surface.

There are layers:

• the foundation (systems, performance)
• the structure (how things are organized)
• the interaction (how things behave)
• the surface (visuals)

If the foundation is weak, it will show up eventually. No amount of polish can fully hide it. So developing taste also means learning to see beyond the surface.

Taste is a team property

Taste is not just the designer’s job.

A product feels good only when everything is aligned. Engineering, product, design. A small issue in performance, copy, or logic can break the experience. This is why teams that care about quality tend to produce better products. Taste doesn’t happen in isolation.

Taste vs speed is a false tradeoff

There’s a common belief: you can either move fast or make things good.

But in reality, the goal is both. Good taste is not about slowing down everything. It’s about making the right decisions early, so you don’t build something messy and fix it later.

Taste is hard to measure

You can measure conversion, engagement, revenue. But taste itself is harder to measure directly. Often, you just feel it. Things feel smooth, clear, and natural.

A simple signal: people talk about it. They enjoy using it. They recommend it. If no one notices your product, it probably lacks taste.

Taste needs focus

You don’t have unlimited time or resources. So you can’t apply perfect taste everywhere. Focus on what matters most. The core flows. The main experience.

Also, don’t fall into the trap of polishing surface issues while ignoring deeper problems. That usually makes things look better, but still feel wrong.

Taste becomes a moat

Over time, taste compounds. A well-crafted product builds trust. People stay. They come back. A poorly crafted one slowly loses users, even if it has the same features. In a world where features are easy to copy, taste is harder to copy.

Taste starts with belief

None of this works if you don’t believe it matters. Taste doesn’t appear by accident. It comes from people who care about details, about users, about doing things properly. And even if you can’t measure it perfectly, that doesn’t make it optional.

It comes down to trying to expose yourself to the best things that humans have done and then try to bring those things into what you’re doing. — Steve Jobs