Design is nothing. Design exists only as a substance in between. It is like a lubricant facilitating the transfer of something (a message, information, a product, a story) to someone or something else. At its worst, design is merely a handmaid, a servant, the pretty escort in this transfer. At its best, design is the scout, out in front, making decisions, solving problems, and bravely guiding its audience (and the client, if there is one) to new visions and insights. Sometimes this happens in a very teeny, small and restricted way. Sometimes it happens on a grander scale or in a more expressionistic way. I am always searching for those moments because it is then that design is something.  
Marlene McCarty