Visual/Brand Design Taste

There is no single fixed aesthetic here — the right look depends on the project. What's fixed is the decision process: read three signals, pick a mode, then apply that mode's heuristics consistently instead of re-deciding per-screen.

Step 0: is taste even yours to decide?

Check first, before anything else:

• An existing UI library/design system is already in the project (shadcn, Material, Ant, a custom token set, a Figma-derived component set)? Follow it. Its taste wins over anything below — do not fight an established system with personal preference.
• A brand guide or explicit direction was given? Follow it, full stop.

Only fall through to the steps below when neither exists.