Your definition of design includes style, since style can (and often is) a solution to a problem as well. Not everything is wireframes and usability, and this is coming from someone who's first book on the job was Jakob Nielsen's.
Ever read Blink? Or those studies about how people make an unconscious decision about a website in less than a second?
Style and polish expresses a level of quality (at the very least) and can also communicate the type of site. Is this a kid-friendly Disney site? Is it a serious financial tool? Is it a mysterious stealth mode startup?
