Challenging topic to write about, Kate. One thing that stood out to me is that you list pretty arbitrary things when you talk about the purpose of design. Yet in the preceding paragraph you say:

things speak through design

And that, at least in my eyes is the function of design. It communicates. It tells us the purpose of a product. It tells us what to expect of a product because it's similar in design to something we know (your; Your design doesn’t have to be original). It tells us which values a brand has. It tells us in a language the user understands (your; Designers are not like their users). It tells us how to use a product by guiding our eyes and using patterns, colours, icons of which users know the meaning.