This is the real job. Taste is not a dataset. It is discernment.
Rick Rubin famously said that his value isn’t technical skill or musical ability, but taste. His job is to know when something feels right, when it’s honest, when it’s finished. He doesn’t play the instruments. He listens. He decides. In an era where machines can generate endlessly, that kind of discernment becomes the work.
Taste isn’t a nice-to-have.
If I were joining an agency today, I wouldn’t obsess over tools. I’d obsess over inputs. I’d consume relentlessly—art, films, fashion, music, design, memes, subcultures, trends that barely register. I’d study campaigns that worked and reverse-engineer them—not just the craft, but the strategy. I’d ask why this landed and that didn’t. I’d look for patterns, including the rare moments when someone broke all the rules and changed the game anyway. Then I’d repeat.
In a world where execution will be democratized, taste will be rare—and creative directors will be necessary to hone it.
