What good taste actually means

There's a quote I keep coming back to. Emil Kowalski shared it in a course about animation on the web, and it stuck with me: "If taste is just personal preference, then everyone's taste is already perfect." — Paul Graham, Y Combinator.

That line is sharp. Because it exposes how people often misunderstand what taste really is. Taste isn't a fixed preference. It's a skill. And like any skill, you can get better at it.

Taste is something you build

I used to think some people just had "it" — that natural eye for what looks right. But the more I've worked in digital design, the more I've come to realize that's not true. The designers I admire most aren't talented in some innate way. They've just put in the work to develop their eye over time and it’s something I noticed in my own work, if I look back at my early works that I have also shared in my case studies.

Get out of your bubble

For me, the shift happened when I stopped looking at the same pool of inspiration. I started seeking out top-tier designers from around the world — people working in contexts, aesthetics, and constraints completely different from mine.

It reminds me of the book Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. The idea is simple: the work you make is a remix of everything you've absorbed. So the more diverse and high-quality your inputs, the better your outputs. But it only works if you're genuinely curious and intentional about where you look.

Care enough to go the extra mile

Good taste without effort is just opinion. What separates taste is the willingness to push further. It’s about experimenting, iterating and to care about the details.

That doesn't mean getting stuck over one small decision for hours. It means giving yourself the space to explore early on, trying different directions before committing. The extra mile isn't about perfection. It's about not settling too quickly. To get out of your comfort zone and into the growth zone.

Stay critical — even of work you love

This is the part that trips people up. Good taste isn't about finding designers you admire and copying their decisions. It's about looking at even your favorite work critically and asking: what would I have done differently?

That question is what sets you apart. Not just "how do I replicate this?" but "how would I approach this with my own perspective?" It keeps your taste honest and sets yourself apart.

Keep going

Good taste is a moving target. It grows as you grow. The designers who have it aren't the ones who got lucky; they're the ones who kept looking, kept questioning, and kept caring about their work. So keep going and keep exploring all over and build up your own taste that is based on the awesome work that has already been done for you (something you would call design principles).