Form vs. Function

Someone once said, “all propaganda must be popular and its intellectual level must be adjusted to the most limited intelligence among those it is addressed to. Hence the greater the mass it is intended to reach, the lower its purely intellectual level will have to be.” If this is true, then are we sacrificing too much? Do we have to dumb down design to ensure its success? It is very easy to get caught up in the rigours of proper design etiquette, but if most of the public will not perceive them, does it really work? This goes hand in hand with, for example, producing a logo that is beautifully rendered and laced with nuances of letterforms and concepts. The work may be perfectly executed but if only the designer, the production team, and the client 'get it' who are we kidding?