Your design system has tokens.
Where's the taste?

DESIGN.md tells you what your product looks like. TASTE.md tells you why it works.

Try a Free Audit → Get a Full Taste Audit Use the template free →

The Three Layers of Design Systems

Every design system lives in three tiers. Most tools stop at tier 2.

Tier 1

Commodity

Colors, typography, spacing. The atoms every design tool covers.

Tier 2

System

Components, patterns, states. How the atoms combine into usable blocks.

Tier 3

Taste ←

Intent, decisions, philosophy. Why you made these choices and what you're defending against.

Visiona's lane

What TASTE.md Captures

A real design system answers these four questions. TASTE.md is where you document the answers.

1

What tradeoffs were made?

Every design decision has a cost. The color palette is 11 colors, not 31. Why that number? What did you give up?

2

What is non-negotiable?

Which rules bend under pressure, and which ones don't? If a designer can't round corners above 2px, they need to know why.

3

What should users feel?

Your design system is a mood. Should the interface feel premium or accessible? Serious or playful? Which signals accomplish that?

4

What does the system defend against?

Anti-patterns matter as much as patterns. What UI mistakes has this system been built to prevent?

Live Example — Playground Jiu Jitsu

Here's the TASTE.md for playgroundjiujitsu.com — the BJJ academy that inspired Visiona's audit framework. Real questions. Real answers.

TASTE.md — Playground Jiu Jitsu

By Visiona Silva

Intent This site converts strangers into first-class visitors by projecting earned authority and zero pretension. Every element says: serious instruction, welcoming room, no gimmicks. A parent scrolling at 10pm should feel safe booking their kid before the page finishes loading. Core Moves2px radius everywhere — Sharp corners signal discipline; this is a dojo, not a SaaS page, and the geometry should feel like the sport. • Jost 900 uppercase headers — Heavy compressed type announces authority without raising its voice. • DM Sans 300 body — Thin weight against heavy headers creates hierarchy through contrast alone, keeping the page breathable. • Red as accent, not wallpaper — #c8202a appears only where action lives; restraint keeps it from reading as aggression. • Credentials before copy — "Black Belt Since 2017," "IBJJF Registered" — numbers appear early because trust converts faster than adjectives. Constraints ✅ Off-white (#f7f5f2) canvas, never pure white — warm paper tone feels human, not clinical. ✅ One red element per viewport — multiple reds compete; single accent per section keeps the eye moving forward. ✅ Testimonials from real names only — anonymous praise is invisible; a name plus source is the minimum credibility unit. ❌ Never round corners above 2px — softness contradicts martial discipline and breaks the system. ❌ Never lead with pricing — trust-first funnel; cost belongs after the visitor decides they want to train. ❌ Never use stock photography — every image from this mat, these coaches, these students. Anti-PatternsGradient backgrounds — Flat color is the foundation; gradients introduce noise that competes with content hierarchy. • Animated stat counters — "15+ Years" doesn't need a counting animation; gimmicks cheapen numbers already impressive on their own. • Hamburger menu on desktop — Four nav items fit in a row; hiding them adds friction to a site that needs immediate navigability. • Hero carousel — One strong image with one strong line converts better than a slideshow that dilutes the first impression. • Exclamation marks in headlines — The tone is earned confidence; punctuation should match the composure of a black belt.

Ready for your TASTE.md?

A design system without taste is just a style guide. Get the philosophy document that makes your design system actually mean something.

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