I believe the main issue is that it’s difficult to have any kind of consistent/coherent design in a desktop where everything is optional. Building good UI for managing panels can also be challenging.
Great; I don't care about "design" as you're using it.
That entire field is somewhat unserious because it conflates engineering and actual usability with fashion, and often can't distinguish between the two.
That's exactly why I'm saying focus more on the modularity.
