It's primal. You feel it in your gut. Simply put, there are just some things that look freakin' good.

I've been obsessing a bit lately about buying a mountain bike. Today a friend sent me a link to one he thought I'd like, and I can honestly say I started to drool. It was shiny. Has a bit of muscular curve. The paint job wasn't overdone. It looks just… right.

One of my girlfriends has a shopping policy: she only buys things that give her "happy chemicals". You know the feeling. You spot something you like — a shirt, some shoes, a Canon EOS 1000D, whatever — and have an immediate (chemical) reaction. Eyes open wider. Sharp inhale of breath. Palms sweat (OK, maybe that's just me). But the experience is basically a sudden onset of pure joy. Maybe it's a little like love at first sight, (or lust). This instinct or reaction is inspiring to me, being a designer.

As much as my inner design snob tries to brain its way into a good design, it always helps when I remember that if it doesn't give me happy chemicals, it probably won't be giving anyone else a thrill. Sounds simple. But getting to that place of achieving instant lust with a design is the tricky part.

To dissect it just a bit further (enter: inner design snob): Sure, reactions are gutteral. Instinctual. But you have that feeling because this object of your desire is meeting your needs in multiple ways. It is something you want. Something that's useful to you. It's relevant. It's likely also visually appealing. (And it's probably not on sale, if you're me.)

I've had the experience in design presentations where the client immediately loves the design. It's perfect. It's hitting the mark. If I'm going on the happy chemicals theory, the client loves the design because it's just… right. They might analyze it a bit later, after the buzz wears off, and find it in sync with their needs. It has appeal to their target audience. It hits every objective in the creative brief. But the beauty is that initially they don't feel the need to analyze it, they don't check to see if it aligns with their company's value proposition or run it through user testing. It just feels right.

And that, my friends, is a very nice place to be. Trust your instincts. Embrace your inner animal. Don't settle for the sale rack when something else is making you drool.