> They think (incorrectly) that whatever they themselves "like" will also be liked by other people. This stems from kindergarten, really. This is where we sta

> They think (incorrectly) that whatever they themselves "like" will also be liked by other people. This stems from kindergarten, really. This is where we start telling children that everyone's aesthetic opinions are correct. When anybody complains, the standard answer is "hey, that's his opinion, and it's just as valid as yours." A designer is taught the basics of universal aesthetics, and this quote: “Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” However, there exist things such as the golden measure, which are inherently more attractive, measurably and proven, to humans. This is why gothic architecture seems so alien, and why their paintings are messed up... their definition of proper proportion was incorrect. They felt the human body was an ugly vessel for the soul, and that churches should reach to God. It took us a while to realize that neo-classical Greek architecture and sculpting was inherently correct, that things need to be based on Φ to be human. Look at a Macbook Pro. It's beautiful. I know a few Windows developers who HATE the mac operating system, but run a MBP because the hardware is so nice, so good looking. This is in contrast to the personal preference of some fantasy lover who decks a computer out with skulls and blue lights. There is a human style that is universal, but often clouded by personal and cultural preferences. Our things are based on our proportions: the traditional musical scale is based on pitch segments of what the human voice is capable of. Because of this common design thread, there are solutions that are more inherently correct and pleasing than others. You don't ever hear an engineer complain about mathematical beauty. The reason most people don't say anything about design? They don't have words for it, and without those words they can't understand a concept. I've taught friends about typography and they suddenly start to develop a design aesthetic, much like your photography skills. This is fairly similar to a culture with no concept of higher numbers: one, two, many. Start here: http://moma.org/explore/collection/index http://moma.org/explore/collection/index