He isn't the only one who has some ambivalence about late post-TNG designs. Quite a lot of people are of two minds about them, as they are sometimes very nice looking, but also sometimes feel like they are from a more generic and un-periodised franchise. Arguably the Star Trek aesthetic before then had been very unadorned and utilitarian, with minimal "coolness"-only surface-features, then afterwards became very angular and ridged, full of grooves that seem to have no utility. By comparison, the Enterprise D is elegant, but has no 'fins':
Initially as a kid, I, and many others, loved the Sovereign-class for example, but later, I found the design a bit boring, and I've heard many others who felt the same. Maybe that's just because of the amount of science fiction with furrowed complicated-ships that has proliferated since, to be fair. DS9 also tended toward making starships almost like a fighter. It's fine and everything, but Star Trek's sailing vessel aesthetic, of big lumbering warships pounding each other's shields was a unique feature and selling point of difference with other franchises.
The original enterprise had a very iconic design, then The Motion Picture one did the ILM utilitarian-surface-detail thing with it, resulting in probably the most universally loved look in the series history, then people like Greg Jein did some interesting stuff for TNG, which I really like now in hindsight. But some of the newer post-TNG stuff sometimes looks a bit video-gamey, with ridges for ridges sake, I'm not dismissing Eaves talent, but this is just to give some perspective on why some fans are lukewarm about the Sovereign, or the Nimitz from DSC.
Things from the TNG era which I originally didn't like as a 8 year old kid when I first saw them in the early 90s, have really grown more and more in stature as the years have gone by. The LCARS displays have aged really well. The rounded smooth and sculpted designs look really distinct and artistic. Check out Andrew Probert's Ambassador concept. Seeing it in behind-the-scenes production stuff as a kid, it probably didn't strike me as very interesting, but with lots more historical context now, I can see a lot of beauty in the design, lots of subtlety.
At another extreme, the incredibly minimalist, industrial, and utilitarian design of the Planet of the Titans starship, now looks really interesting to me with, when, as a kid, it probably looked anachronistic or primitive. I like it so much more now because the concept art is very periodised, and could easily fit into early Starfleet history, as some kind of shuttle-carrier, or planetary survey ship, great as a wreak/hulk or outdated relic for the hero ship to come across.
