Part 6 · 2 chapters · ~12 min

Taste: What Makes Software Feel Good

Perceived speed and optimistic UI, defaults that remove decisions, designed empty, loading, error and offline states, specific copy, consistency and shortcuts, restraint, and how to build taste deliberately by studying products and noticing details.

11

The details users feel

Taste is not innate. It is noticing, repeated: using excellent products closely, writing down what makes them feel good, and holding your own work to that list.

TASTE: WHAT MAKES SOFTWARE FEEL GOOD
details users notice without being able to name
speedInstant feedback on every tap;optimistic UI where safe; nothingwaits without a sign.defaultsThe right choice pre-selected;fewer decisions; rememberedpreferences.statesEmpty, loading, error and offlinestates designed, not left tochance.wordsPlain, specific copy that sayswhat happened and what to do next.consistencySame patterns everywhere; keyboardshortcuts; predictable behaviour.restraintFewer features done well; removingwhat does not earn its place.
swipe the figure sideways, or tap expand for full screen
1/6
speed
Perceived speed is a feature: under 100 ms feels instant. Linear built its reputation partly on local-first sync that makes every action immediate.
under 100 ms feels instantlocal-first, optimistic where safe
12

Building taste deliberately

a practice
  1. Pick one product a week known for quality (Linear, Stripe Dashboard, Arc, Things, Moniepoint or OPay flows) and use one journey slowly.
  2. Write down five details that made it feel good and one that did not.
  3. Find the same journey in your product and compare.
  4. Fix one small thing a week. Small polish compounds into reputation.