100% agree with this. I remember reading about the student who redesigned Microsoft (http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670245/a-students-smart-microsoft-rebranding-is-better-than-the-real-thing#1) and it angered me that almost every design publication and their little hipster dogs were writing about it as if MS were stupid for not listening to him. Designing in a vacuum might result in a pretty design, but it's like making a suit for a man you've never met, seen or talked to...