Instructor Spotlight: Ludo Cestarelli and Hannah Oh

What inspired you to teach this course?

Hannah: ExCollege has always been a space for experimental ideas, which encouraged us to try something fun and different. As designers, Ludo and I talk a lot about taste and how it shapes identity and the way people move through the world. We wanted to explore that question through our course.

Ludo: Having been in the world of professional design throughout the years, I’ve come across many people (peers and clients) that have no understanding—let alone vocabulary—of their personal style. Although the design world is centered around taste at face value, throughout the years there has been a shift towards “function over form” that led us to lose touch with what is truly beautiful (and why). I found myself losing my own sensibility, and realizing I wasn’t able to articulate why something was simply beautiful. I’m on a personal mission to rediscover that. And, selfishly, I’m learning what good taste means today, from the students themselves.

What does it mean to have good taste?

Hannah: In a time of mass content and what some people call “AI slop,” taste becomes a powerful differentiator. It helps us clarify what we value and what we choose to stand behind. Developing taste is really about learning to recognize—and articulate—our own identity. When you can apply that to your work, whether it is the way you design or teach, it sets you apart and also makes your work more meaningful.

Ludo: One of my favorite words when I think of taste is discernment: the ability to decipher whether something is good enough for you, in a sea of information. There tends to be a superficiality that is associated with taste that I find disappointing. To have good taste, it means to care enough. To meticulously hand-pick things (material or not) in your life so they serve you, specifically. To move through life intentionally and fully. Why wouldn’t people want to beautify the world around them? How satisfying to put the work of care in.

What are the key principles of taste and how do they show up in our everyday lives?

We are purposefully structuring the class with a balance of the objective and subjective: good taste requires both. We look at Gestalt principles as a way of grounding taste in objectivity—how humans naturally perceive patterns, form, and relationships. This proves that taste can be taught.

At the same time, taste is inherently personal: shaped by culture, memory, and life experiences. Throughout the course we analyze Gestalt principles through the lens of the zeitgeist, and this subjectivity is what we find exciting to discuss. Our course is not about prescribing a certain set of taste, but it's closer to a critical thinking exercise—learning to ask why you like certain things and what that reveals about you. We’re encouraging a reflection that is especially important early on, when you're still forming your perspective and voice.

Is taste universal?

Hannah: We have a few hypotheses, but part of the course is discovering the answer together. By the end of the semester, students create their own “Cabinet of Curiosities”—a personal collection that reflects their sense of taste. It will be fascinating to see whether patterns emerge across such different perspectives.

Ludo: Taste is universal in the sense that absolutely everyone has a sense of taste: it’s omnipresent. Whether you have it defined or not, every decision you make is based on your personal preferences. However, taste is not universal in the meaning of it being the same everywhere you go. One thing this multi-cultural cohort is definitely shining a light on, is the impact that diverse backgrounds, different geographies, and upbringings have on what you are drawn to every day. Taste allows us to talk about something that is both universal and not, all at the same time.

Ludo Cestarelli is a Senior Brand Designer at Other Tomorrows, crafting identities for brands across industries such as hospitality, food, and aviation.

Hannah Oh is a Senior Design Strategist at Other Tomorrows and serves as a chapter officer of Industrial Designers Society of America’s (IDSA) Boston chapter.