I agree but with the caveat that "design" includes usability and not just pretty graphics.

Quoted: The thing that other companies have struggled with in trying to catch up to Apple is their inability to dismantle the engineering-driven mindset within their organizations. Microsoft and Dell have felt the pain of somehow always feeling a step behind. Nokia and LG are now about to.

This is the website of the guy who wrote "Don't Make Me Think". There is some helpful stuff here, including a sample usability test script. Also, I recommend reading the book if you haven't already.

Quoted: Steve Krug, author of Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, provides consulting services including expert reviews of existing sites and new designs, usability workshops, and usability testing.

I've been really happy with this book. It is both general and specific. It is general in that in presents fundamental usability principles such as "Don't make me think". It is specific in that it gives you explicit web design recommendations.

And, he practices what he preaches...so you can scan the book in a couple of hours and get all the main points.

Quoted: The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques, and examples presented revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book's assumptions, such as "We don't read pages--we scan them" and "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through." Coming to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces topnotch sites.

Relevant.

Quoted: When designing human computer interfaces (including web UIs):
...
* Minimize the number of text fields in your interfaces down to the absolute minimum necessary.
* Minimize the number of click/keystrokes/gestures necessary to accomplish actions in your interface.
* Make your interface as responsive as possible - minimize the latency of each and every action a user might take in your interface.