What is Taste?
Taste is the ability to recognize quality. In design and development, it means knowing the difference between something that works and something that feels right. It's why some UIs feel effortless and others feel clunky — even when both technically function.
Why Developers Need Taste
As a developer, taste helps you:
- Write cleaner, more readable code
- Build UIs that feel polished without a designer
- Make better product decisions
- Communicate more effectively with designers
How to Develop Taste
1. Study great work obsessively
Look at Dribbble, Linear, Vercel, Stripe, and Raycast. Don't just admire — ask yourself why it works. What spacing, typography, and color choices are they making?
2. Build and ship constantly
Taste without execution is just opinion. Build things, get feedback, and iterate. Your taste improves fastest when you're making real decisions under real constraints.
3. Consume broadly
Read books on typography, watch talks on design systems, study architecture and film. Taste cross-pollinates — the best designers and developers draw inspiration from everywhere.
4. Develop strong opinions, loosely held
Have a point of view. Know why you prefer one approach over another. But stay open to being wrong — taste evolves.
The Gap
Ira Glass said it best: when you start, your taste exceeds your ability. That gap is frustrating — but it means you can recognize good work before you can produce it. That recognition is taste. Keep building until your output catches up.