Good Design is Good Business
You needn't look far to see that design is an ever-present aspect of our daily lives, whether we actively realize it or not. A design-focused company is now the most valuable public company in history, and guess what, #2 and #3 on that list are also pushing the design envelope. People flock to buy the next iSomething not because it's a necessary element like food or water, but because they just want it. Sure, it has the capacity to do all sorts of amazing things we all take for granted, but it's by no means necessary to sustain life.
I wanted to share an article on just this topic, but focused on architecture. Every single day we spend the majority of our time in it, and study upon study has shown that it has a critical impact on our mental and physical being. Good design has the capacity to not only make us happier, but it's value is also there monetarily (and not just for the designer, but equally so for the user/consumer).