Each to their own, of course, but I find the design pretty good on the whole. The app icon was designed by Pacific Helm, so he did hire a designer (and a pretty well-respected one); I'm not sure what the argument against it is. (Other than the subjective one, obviously.) And most of the interior is just typography, in a style that, at least to my eye, is pretty reminiscent of the UI for The Magazine. (Surprise.)

I suppose if you hate orange, you're going to find the whole thing pretty hideous. (But if you hate orange how can you bear Hacker News?)