Petrie frames his design philosophy as a for-profit enterprise, not pure art. He compares his role to music producer Rick Rubin, arguing he's paid for his "taste level." His belief is that if he finds something visually pleasing and commercial, customers will too.
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Designers often focus on selling their craft to design managers, but the final hiring decision frequently lies with product leaders. To succeed, designers must frame their value as a business investment, emphasizing the ROI and metric impact that resonates with the ultimate approver.
When talented creators demonize business, they cede the market to commercially savvy people who may lack artistic soul. To improve the quality of mainstream art, true artists must embrace commercial strategies to capture market share themselves.
Most designers focus on aesthetics (UI) or general usability. High-growth DTC requires a specialist who understands performance marketing, UX, messaging hierarchy, and customer psychology to design assets that directly drive revenue, not just look good. This is a rare and critical skillset.
Designers once felt like imposters, but the profession grew rapidly, championed by figures like Steve Jobs. Now, design has a "seat at the table" and is recognized as a critical differentiator and a core business process for problem-solving, not just aesthetics.
Chasing a universal standard of "tastefulness" often leads to perfectionism and inaction. Instead, focus on having good intent to create value for a specific audience. Trust your own subjective taste, execute on it, and accept that it won't be for everyone.
Contrary to stereotypes, the best creative leaders possess a strong understanding of business mechanics. They use this knowledge not just for operational success, but as a crucial tool to protect their creative vision and build a robust, defensible enterprise.
Product 'taste' is often narrowly defined as aesthetics. A better analogy is a restaurant: great food (visuals) is necessary but not sufficient. Taste encompasses the entire end-to-end user journey, from being greeted at the door to paying the check. Every interaction must feel crafted and delightful.
Technical talent is not the primary driver of resonant creative work. The key ingredient is 'taste'—an unteachable ability to discern what will be emotionally pleasing and impactful to an audience. This intuitive sense separates good creators from great ones.
As AI makes software creation faster and cheaper, the market will flood with products. In this environment of abundance, a strong brand, point of view, taste, and high-quality design become the most critical factors for a product to stand out and win customers.
The company's design leadership is pushing back against justifying design solely through business metrics, arguing it signals a lack of confidence in craft. They foster a culture where the primary measure of success is the team's own high bar for taste, trusting this will ultimately drive long-term value.
