Why Hoche looked so visually complicated

What could France have done to make Hoche less visually objectionable, and was the designer blind?

The designer was not blind; the appearance reflected too many combined requirements and France's return to full-size capital-ship construction after a long gap.

Hoche incorporated a large collection of competing ideas into one hull, a problem comparable to other committee-heavy warship designs. She was also France's first full-size capital ship after roughly a decade without building one, so the project carried the awkwardness of restoring lost design and construction experience. Her appearance reflects an institutional and technological problem rather than merely an aesthetic failure.