I think the disconcerting part of Corporate Memphis is when the geometricity is applied to human figures to become this weird flattening. To me it's infantilising without the humanising elements of flaws or discernable features.

This is true because Corporate Memphis is Memphis with all the details removed. Corporate Memphis is that way because corporate art has to be simplified in order to produce the vast amounts needed to maximise profit for design companies. I know people who work in graphic design, and they are AMAZING artists, but the work they produce for their day job has to be simplified Corporate Memphis in order to meet quotas, sometimes they are expected to illustrate an entire marketing campaign in half an hour.

However when you remove the "Corporate" from Memphis the style is capable of portraying unique characters. Nigel Thornberry is iconic, you can tell exactly what kind of character he is by looking at him.