Most people know what they like.  When they see a car, website, face, or bookcover they can usually make a judgment in a matter of seconds whether they like it.  I know what I like, and I can usually tell you the reasons why I like it e.g. I like the symmetry, juztaposition of textures, openness etc.  I don’t always know what everyone else will like though.  When I’m getting dressed for the day, it’s really more about what I like to wear, what I think looks good (with some caveats obviously if you’ve ever seen What Not to Wear, you know some people think certain things look good which are ridiculous), but when you are designing a website for a business that is not just about a single person, then the website will not be nearly so personalized.

This has come up working with a partner who was playing around with a CMS that had a number of really great looking template designs.  She chose one that I personally loved and so did she, in this case it was one of those things that reflected out personal sense of taste, but was not appropriate for a business.  Through informal feedback avenues it was obvious that we had made the wrong choice, and it was nice that before we had really started into developing the look and feel of the site any further we were able to make that major course correction early.

So what’s the take home? Critique early  & often. Involve potential clients and cusomters early in the process both informally and formally through simple conversations, getting feedback, focus groups etc, and usability testing.