Aesthetic sense is a broad term that closely associates with one's personality or character. In simple words, it is the ability to appreciate what is actually good. This might seem relative at first. There is a faux-belief that circulates which states, "There is no good or bad, it's just what you prefer." This is a very vague statement and applies only to laymen in very few circumstances. However, if you are a creative professional, the first thing you need to understand is that there is obviously good and bad! There is good music- bad music, there are good films - bad films, there are good books- bad books, there is good design- bad design!
But how do you know that your preferences are good?
Similar to the formation of personality or character, one's aesthetic sense is built from their surroundings. It can be challenging to control this during childhood when exposure is primarily controlled by parents or family. To be brutally honest, India is not the best place to grow up with good exposure to design. Bad often supersedes good here. We are exposed every day to more bad design than good design - just take a look around you on the street. Poorly designed signboards, vehicle decals, political/religious hoardings, buildings, infrastructure, and more — all of this scream, "bad design!”
Once you grow up, however, you can dictate what surrounds you. This choice is still influenced by your existing exposure, but a strong will to change and evolve positively can help you overcome that shell and explore bigger and better options.
Apart from Design, Aesthetic Sense dictates your preferences in
Music
Movies
Food
Books and more!
The solution to this gap is (again) knowledge. The more you learn about a topic, the more refined your aesthetic sense becomes. For example, if you learn more about films, your taste in films will improve. A design appreciation class, similar to a film appreciation class, can help improve your aesthetic sense. Talk to designers and ask them about their process, the choices they make, and their inspirations. Look at their work and try to understand what makes it special. If you can't identify it, ask others. Keep learning and repeating the process!
Forcefully Surround yourself with Good Exposure.
Another way to improve your aesthetic sense is to filter and force only good content to reach you. It's very easy now to manage your sources with the way technology has evolved. Filter your behance, instagram and Pinterest feeds.
Follow some really good design agencies in Behance. Search in Google for the best design agencies, find their Behance profile follow them.
Find popular designers from google again and follow them in insta. Unfollow Ms. Aunt Gossip and Mr. Uncle Tourist!
Ask a mentor or a designer friend to like a few designs while logged in to your Pinterest account, this will create an automatic filter for similar content and you will be provided with good content every day. Keep liking designs to populate your feed with similar quality standards. Use another Pinterest account for your personal stuff.
Read, Read and Read more!
