Develop your taste and craft in the AI age

When the first car came out, consumers didn’t care about its color because the competition was a horse. But now cars have been commoditized, and quality and details become more important than ever.

The same applies to software. Simply shipping a product that works is no longer enough; everyone can do that, especially now with AI.

Now, with the help of AI, it’s not difficult to design and build your ideas into production. You can prompt and get designs in minutes. But we’re about to see an explosion of bland design.

Think about Framer, Webflow, Squarespace,… They make great-looking websites incredibly easy to build. But why are there still so many bad websites out there? Because great tools alone don’t make great products—taste and design sense do.

What makes a product stand out is the brand, design, how intuitive it is, and the overall experience.

We’ve seen a flood of people entering design without a strong foundation in craft. Available resources and robust design systems made it easier to assemble rather than design.

If you want to be a standout and be a valuable asset today, you need a specialization—whether it’s craft, growth, or strategy.

Do we still need designers? Absolutely.

If you know how to solve meaningful problems and have strong craft, you’re about to be more empowered than ever. You won’t need a technical co-founder to bring ideas to life.

Develop a specialization, learn how to leverage AI tools, and you’ll be founder-ready.

And the product you create will stand out because the extra 10% of craft will make the difference.

Craft and taste are trained instincts. The ability to see beyond the obvious and recognize what elevates.

Taste is what matters.

In a world of scarcity, we treasure tools. In a world of abundance, we treasure taste.
— Anu Atluru, Taste is Eating Silicon Valley