I don’t want to stir the pot but I wanted to shine some light on the other side.You are not wrong in your frustration and in no way am I saying that your statements are unjust.
As an engineer, the “it cost too much” or “who would buy this” arguments are usually related to laziness. Its the route that ALOT of engineers go take when they don’t have time or simple don’t want to do something. In more cases than people expect, the expense excuse is viable but should ALWAYS be explained in depth and the team should work towards a better, more cost effective design. Unfortunately this usually neuters the original design a bit.
Being the permanent wet blanket sucks. But its in the chaos that the truly revolutionary stuff gets designed.
I don’t know how things are at your company but is it possible/acceptable to call this person on his bluff? Having worked in Japanese companies, they are ALWAYS way too conservative in new developments. They see it as, if you don’t get fired up when an idea gets shot down you don’t care enough to fight for it. You have to do the work in the dark, behind their backs and present them with the final product and enough support that they can’t turn you down again.
From my stand point, I’d love for the designers I work with to get fired up about something that they really believe in. I think it might be because you guys are trained to keep the ideas coming no matter how many times they get turned down. Sometimes it seems like a design is just something to throw out there for the sake of it.
Sorry for the long message, I think way too much over my morning coffee. This is making me jealous. I wish the designers in my company weren’t so beat down that they could get inspired on new projects.