I think what happens in Switzerland is that grid-design and sans-serif minimalism is applied with good taste all over the place. It stands out when something is poorly done. In North America, the variety of other styles are applied with no taste or consistency, including those styles taken from the swiss. I'd love to see a very culturally/aesthetically diverse urban landscape with good taste applied to many styles of design.

Edit: Walking around Zurich gave me a weird sense that everything was so consistent as to be too refined and rich. Every woman had the same highly fashionable style, everything cleanly cut, everything sanitized. I'll admit it was a little creepy. Every person I spoke to was more or less a delight, but I felt as though speaking to people would be taboo. Much more so than Downtown Vancouver, though the vibe is often described similarly.

San-serif minimalism is timeless. While it doesn't convey any subtext, it is applicable in every situation.

I'd argue it's the complete opposite of soulless. As the only message it conveys is how you feel about the company. If Verizon had a cool tiger logo, you might think, "man, Verizon is a shit company, but their logo is cool af." But with a simple logo, you just think, "Man, Verizon is a shit company."