The Power of Taste: Elevating Design to Create Emotional Connections
“In a world of scarcity, we treasure tools. In a world of abundance, we treasure taste.” –Anu Atluru
Anu’s essay Taste is Eating Silicon Valley left a lasting impression on me, and I couldn’t shake the idea of a how “taste is becoming the new weapon.” In the past, technological advancements were primarily about improving functionality and efficiency. The better the tech, the more competitive the product. However, we’ve reached a point where software and hardware capabilities are being commoditized. AI has accelerated this trend, making advanced technology accessible to a broader audience.
In a market flooded with capable technology, what sets products apart is how they resonate emotionally — how they connect with people’s cultures and personal tastes. This places us, as design leaders, at the forefront of a new era, making our role more vital than ever in creating meaningful connections between technology and people.
Designers as Cultural Strategists
Being a cultural strategist means having a deep understanding of the diverse cultural contexts in which our products exist. It’s about immersing ourselves in the social, economic, and political factors that shape people’s lives. By grasping these nuances, we can design products that are not only useful but also resonate emotionally with users.
For example, in cultures where collective identity and interdependence are prioritized — like parts of West Africa, Southeast Asia, or Indigenous communities in the Americas — design decisions that emphasize shared purpose and group participation often resonate more deeply. Consider the success of platforms like WeChat in China, which isn’t just a messaging app but a social infrastructure that enables everything from bill-splitting and group payments to community planning. Or M-Pesa in Kenya, which revolutionized mobile banking by enabling peer-to-peer transfers and community savings groups, directly addressing local norms of financial reciprocity and trust. Designing features like collaborative decision-making tools, rotating leadership roles, or community storytelling spaces reflects a sensitivity to these cultural contexts. When products are aligned with the rhythms and values of daily life — not just functionality — they feel like they belong.
Cultivating Partnerships with Creative Disciplines
As taste becomes paramount, collaborating with artists, storytellers, and brand strategists is crucial in crafting holistic and culturally resonant product experiences. This means shifting from a siloed approach to design and embracing a more collaborative model where design leaders work closely with other creative professionals.
By partnering with storytellers, we can weave compelling narratives that enhance the user experience across channels. Collaborations with artists can infuse products with unique aesthetic elements, making them stand out. These interdisciplinary partnerships enrich the design process, leading to more innovative and culturally relevant products.
Measuring and Demonstrating the Value of Taste
While taste can feel subjective, its impact on user engagement, brand perception, and business success needs to be effectively measured and communicated. Developing new metrics and frameworks for assessing the value of design is essential.
Tools like user satisfaction surveys, Net Promoter Scores, and engagement analytics can quantify how taste influences user behavior. Presenting data on increased social engagement, brand advocacy, and lifetime value (LTV) demonstrates the tangible benefits of prioritizing taste in design.
Designing Across Functions
Design leadership needs to extend beyond the product. Just as founders are being challenged to become tastemakers, design leaders must embody this principle as well. This involves advocating for design thinking across the organization and demonstrating how taste can differentiate in all aspects of the business, from marketing and communications to investor relations.
By embedding design principles into the company’s culture, we ensure consistency and authenticity across all touchpoints. This holistic approach strengthens the brand’s identity and fosters a deeper connection with both customers and stakeholders.
What’s Next?
As we navigate this evolving landscape, several thought-provoking questions come to the forefront:
- Who defines and influences the aesthetic standards of tomorrow’s tech products?
- How do we ensure that the pursuit of taste does not sacrifice functionality and usability?
- Could an emphasis on taste inadvertently alienate certain consumer demographics?
As design leaders, we have the opportunity — and responsibility — to harness the power of taste in shaping products that not only meet functional needs but also connect emotionally with users. By becoming cultural strategists, fostering collaborations, measuring our impact, and extending our influence beyond the product, we can lead the way in this new era where taste is the ultimate differentiator. And finally, let’s continue to prioritize meaningful connections between the technology and the people we serve.
