Wait..isn't "exquisite design" is very personal opinion and what would work for one user does not work another? I am under impression that nowadays any web-site with large audience always exists in multiple versions that are used in A/B testing.
So even if Comic Sans (in hot pink) is your favorite font, you would agree that it produces the wrong emotion on, say, a gravedigger's website. Not that I wouldn't absolutely love to see that.
Taste is very personal yes, but successful designs are more than expressions of taste - they're about solving problems.