He definitely could have handled it much better. Such as: "We put a lot of thought into it, and while it looks busy, we wanted real time data to be available

He definitely could have handled it much better. Such as: "We put a lot of thought into it, and while it looks busy, we wanted real time data to be available for blah and blah reasons. But since you guys seem to not like it, let's make this fun and why don't you start proposing some new layouts. If I see one I like better, I will send the clever person a $100 gift certificate to blah blah" Then the group will either back down, or rise to the occasion and they can all start being harsh on each others design. At that point he is the hero. Always be the hero, even when being torn apart.