Taste Debate :)

GoHDa · Fresh-faced recruit Joined: Apr 10, 2006 Posts: 2

Just thought i would pop this question to you all. Answer it in any which way you like.

What is 'taste' and should the work of designers be influenced by notions of 'good' and 'bad' taste?

Have fun

Siggi · Moderator Joined: Apr 08, 2003 Posts: 2795 Location: spain

welcome to our happy family GoDHa!!
now there's a little hit and run... good for a discussion or two as well!! wonder if your sitting on the fence of TASTE, hedging your bets or are convinced one way or't'other??

what are the nothions anyway?? i suppose it depends on social attitudes of the country concerned where the DESIGN will be placed/used, as to what is acceptable by the MASSES or not.
eg.
in britain the cameramen are held way back from a serious accident, because the victems or families feelings are not to be put on public display...without concent. whereas here in spain the cameras would be up the victems left nostril and no-one would bat an eyelid in this post-franco, liberated spain.

so anything visual does not shock the spanish. ANYTHING goes and is open to HEATED discussion. on the other hand the british have a very high sense of propriety, as what is used for public consumption and a few things are even totally tabu.
these are the 2 countries attitude i know best really. germany has changed sooo much since i left and i dont know what is tabu's there any more, only that a VERY strict code of conduct, in an honourable sense, is still applied there and i am sure that that would affect if a design is accepted or not.

i would have thought if you DESIGN ANYTHING, it should be functional, pleasing to the eye or easy to use and somehow wanted to be used/owned by the eventual customer. he/she in turn must LIKE it for one reason or another, otherwise you wont sell that DESIGN and can scrap it.
so i suppose, if you have a design, that is socially accepted as being in bad taste, only a minority of people would find it acceptable...which would be great if you are targetting that specific group only!!
which side of the fence do you sit on this one then???
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MadMutant · Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:49 pm Post subject:

Siggi brings up a couple of interesting points. The audience that you are targeting is definately a factor in what is considered to be in "good taste." A piece of work destined for an S&M rag would fall outside the boundaries of something acceptable to a church social group. Even back in art school there were presentations that would be considered to be in bad taste by contemporary standards yet within the confines of the art community were considered acceptable because of the audience and the context of the works.

There's also the chronology of the work to be considered, some pieces created during the Renaissance are considered by the general public to be works of art yet have come under attack by the current art community for their objectification of women.

So to try and spin your question a bit, taste is defined by the audience and history. Certainly culture will be a major factor in deciding what is tasteful to them, yet within those cultures there will be sub-cultures that exist which will agree or not as to what is tasteful. Our tastes also change over time dependent on what influences are present and persistent. Disco, Goth, Punk and other eras have all at one time been popularized at one point and entered the main stream as being acceptable forms of taste, now forced to languish reserved only for a devote few in their respective sub-cultures.

As Siggi mentions, design usually is based on function aimed at a specific audience, that audience has specific tastes or ideals that they will respond to. In a round about way to answer your question, a designer is always influenced by the tastes or ideals of their target audience which the designer has to address and understand in order to communicate the clients goals to. Now, whether or not the designer is willing to work within the context of their target audiences' tastes would probably fall more under the area of "morals."

A couple of quick quotes I've read over the last while that other designers have pondered.

I believe this one is by Milton Glaser - "fashion is style for the masses."

"The goal of design is to either reflect or resist the current culture."

"Taste is all in your mouth."

Sorry, can't remember the sources for the last two.
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1olddawg · Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 7:01 pm Post subject:

Why not try this little test. After creating your graphic/design image, present it to your grandmother to view. do so without personally feeling embarassed, guilty or arrogant. If grandma reaches out and hugs you you, know it was done in good taste, if grandma smacks you with her cane you know you've overstepped that very thin line between good and bad taste.
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MadMutant · Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:23 pm Post subject:

1olddawg,

That all works fine unless of course Grandma has a foot fetish and is into whips, chains and other unspeakable acts, at that point your theory goes out the window.

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1olddawg · Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:05 am Post subject:

MadMutant want to explain just where you met my Grandma LOL !!!

.....good to see you my almost old friend
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Siggi · Moderator Joined: Apr 08, 2003 Posts: 2795 Location: spain

trust u2 to home in on sexual deviations/variations!!!!

but just shows us how many areas are affected by good/bad taste... how about the really old one of:
red and green should never be seen, exept upon an irish queen...now there are a few skirmishes into the good/bad taste arena!!!
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MadMutant · Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 12:28 pm Post subject:

I guess that means the Scots are in a lot of trouble then for their tartans and kilts, lots of red and green there.

But Siggi you bring up a good point, taste and other subjective areas are definitely on a sliding scale between black and white. The only upside, and, obviously downside, to the whole debate is that somewhere one's views on what is right or wrong will be agreed upon or rejected. About the only definitive observation I've made through life is that the more strongly a person is polarized towards one extreme or the other the tougher it will be for them to see your point of view, unless of course your on the same side of the scale as they are.

I guess it's just part of the human condition.

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TeCetera · Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 5:42 pm Post subject:

Oh my goodness. A 1olddawg sighting! *me runs around on furniture and pounces on dawg and gives raspy kitty kisses*

PURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR................RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
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Perseus · Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:10 am Post subject:

Hey scruffy mutt, great to see you again. Been busy eh?

Passes the old dawg a ready rolled 'Marley Special'

Cheers.
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Boleyn · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 1:17 am Post subject:

good taste is to like olddawgs and purring kitties alike - bad taste you'll have in your mouth after that Marley special...

The more serious side of it: almoust everybody thinks their taste is good. Unfortunately there are only very few people that can admit or know that they have a "bad taste". Of course I belong to the first category

Conclusion: taste is in the eye of the beholder.
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GoHDa · Fresh-faced recruit Joined: Apr 10, 2006 Posts: 2

Thanks to everyone for their opinions. Interesting to see what angle people take that question at

10thWay · Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:22 pm Post subject:

Regarding the grandma test, I'd say that if grandma smacks you, you may have just created a very good design.
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DavidMac · Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:57 am Post subject:

The funny thing is that although we are surrounded by examples bad taste wherever we look, nobody actually has bad taste. Everyone thinks their taste is good taste and will display their shelves of Spanish dolls and whisky miniatures (substitute your own pet peeve here) with self evident pride and satisfaction.

In fact can it be proven, in the absence of our own totally subjective judgement driven by our own cultural background, that there even is such a thing as bad taste?

Obviously there is. We see examples of it every day. But demonstating tangibly that it is bad is another kettle of fish entirely!

David Mac