Notes on Taste

Taste is often described as something you either have or do not. I think it is closer to a habit of attention. The more carefully you look at things, the more you begin to notice small differences that used to feel invisible.

Where It Shows Up

In product work, taste shows up in the gaps. The label that is almost right but not quite. The spacing that looks fine until you sit with it. The transition that does the job but does not feel honest. These are not bugs, but they are not finished either.

A Question, Not a Verdict

What I have learned is that taste is not a verdict. It is a quiet question you keep asking: is this the most truthful version of the thing? Is there a smaller, calmer way to say it? Would I be proud to leave this for someone else to find?

Taste does not need to be loud. It usually is not.

It tends to show up as restraint, as care, as the choice to leave something out so what remains can breathe. Noticing is the easy part. Choosing what to leave out is where taste actually lives.