Nothing kills a bold idea faster than a room full of people who want to feel important. That is what a committee is. A crowd of middle managers and brand “stakeholders” carving the life out of an idea one small revision at a time. Change this font. Make it safer. Tone down the colour. Add a tagline. What is left at the end is not design. It is sludge.

Committees do not want clarity. They want comfort. They want to nod at the meeting and feel like they contributed something, even if it makes the work weaker. That is why committee-built brands look identical. They are the design equivalent of tap water: flavourless, forgettable, impossible to hate but impossible to love.

The most dangerous thing about design by committee is that it feels responsible. More voices. More feedback. More alignment. But alignment is not vision. Alignment is death. A bold idea only needs one clear voice. The second you let twelve opinions into the room, you no longer have a design. You have paperwork with a logo on it.

Real design requires someone to take the hit. To say, “This is it. This is the answer.” That person will be hated by some and worshiped by others, but at least the work will live. Committees do not create worship. They create wallpaper.

If you want safe, keep your committee. If you want unforgettable, kill it.