Remember when Canva launched?
Many of us thought design had finally been democratized. Anyone could now create something beautiful. The barrier was gone.
More than ten years later, we’re still here. Still scrolling through feeds filled with mediocre work. Still seeing presentations that miss the mark. Still encountering websites that feel off.
The tools got better. AI arrived. Now you can generate graphics in seconds. Write code without typing much. Create entire campaigns with a few prompts.
Yet something remains unchanged.
Good taste is rare.
You can hand someone the best brush in the world. That doesn’t make them a painter. You can give them access to every font ever created. That doesn’t make them a designer. You can offer them AI that writes copy. That doesn’t make their message resonate.
Taste isn’t about access to tools. It’s about observation. It’s about noticing what works and why it works. It’s about the small details that others overlook. It’s about knowing when to stop.
Most output today is noise. Generic templates filled with stock photos. Predictable layouts that look like everything else. Messages that sound like they came from the same voice.
Standing out requires something different. You need to develop an eye. You need to practice seeing. You need to cultivate judgment.
Look at work you admire. Ask yourself why it works. Study the details. Notice the spacing, the rhythm, the choices that weren’t obvious. Then create your own version. Not a copy. Your own interpretation.
The journey is personal. Your taste will be different from mine. That’s the point. We don’t need more people trying to replicate what already exists. We need more people developing their own perspective.
AI is powerful. The tools are incredible. But they’re still tools.
The magic lives in the human part. In the taste we build. In the judgment we sharpen. In the decisions we make when the template ends and real creativity begins.
That part hasn’t changed. That part won’t be automated.
That part is still ours.
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