I agree to this to a certain extent , at the same time color selecting and properly adjusting the color so that it works neatly across usage is more of a last part , coming up with concept that has a clear direction is more important. Without a proper design/creative brief this is very hard to make. The same goes for the visual aspect of kde plasma .
I think kde plasma should have a design brief/brand brief (to create a polished, updated brand guideline) created first so that the design part of the project has a clear direction , which would provide a consistent identity to the project and would also help in creating a great logo . While kde has the biggest feature list and is very advanced in terms of technical aspects even when comparing to gnome, it lacks a clear design direction which should be given a focus to, because that’s an essential part of the DE.Pardon me if i have crossed any lines here.