Design by Committee: A Tragedy in Three Acts

Act I: A Comedy of Vagueness

It begins, as all great tragedies do, with optimism.
The brief is vague but enthusiastic:

“We want something bold, but safe. Innovative, but familiar. Disruptive… but definitely within brand guidelines.”

We ask for clarity. We’re told, “We’ll know it when we see it.”

So, it begins.

Act II: A Chorus of Opinions

We unveil the work. It's thoughtful. On strategy. Beautiful, even.
We’ve considered the user, the message, the medium, the business goals.

The room is silent.
Then someone speaks.

“What if we combined all three of these directions into one?”
“Can we make it pop more… but also tone it down?”
“I love it, but my nephew said gradients are over.”
“This feels off, but I can’t tell you why.”

The original concept is now on life support. We resuscitate what we can, watching the soul drain from our concept as feedback morphs from insight to indecision.

Act III: The Ghost of What Once Was

It ships. Technically.

The headline no longer aligns with the offer.
The CTA is buried somewhere near the footer.
The layout now includes a QR code, three taglines, and a picture of someone’s dog.

The result is a Frankenstein’s monster of a deliverable — stitched together from good intentions, unclear hierarchy, and conflicting opinions. No one is thrilled, but no one complains. So it goes out.

And then…
It underperforms.
Everyone wonders why.

The Moral of the Story?
Design by committee isn’t collaboration — it’s slow erosion.