On his blog, Tim Gunn, their design guru, was still quaking from what he called this "tragic outcome."

Her design guru is Christopher Alexander, the Berkeley architectural theorist who emphasizes process over plan, color as order and feelings as an objective standard.

Today, the 75-year-old design guru still works for companies like Tiffany & Company, creating plates and flatware with his must-have spark.

But the McCoys themselves are unlikely design gurus; born Midwesterners, they look like that nice young couple next door.

Jim Walrod, often referred to as the "design guru" is a self-taught interior design consultant and considered an expert in the field of mid century design.

Leonard Koren is not what you'd call a design guru.

Ives is the design guru, no doubt.

The design message Mr. Mays, 46, seemed to be sending was more semiotician than design guru (he clearly thinks of himself as both).

With his close-cut, graying hair, light blue eyes and resonant voice, he could have been an actor playing a design guru.

But it is not just the story line that is disturbing superhero junkies, design gurus and other cultural arbiters.