In fact, quite often design gets in the way of effective communication.
Often we overcomplicate the ideas we are trying to communicate particularly when design falls victim to fashion.
That's why my choice is the paper clip. Think of it as a metaphor for all that designer's strive to accomplish and all that good design has to be.
Simple: confoundingly so. Don't you often look at a simple concept and think 'damn I wish I'd thought of that?' Economical: a single strand of wire fashioned into the most effective pieces of office paraphernalia ever invented.
Adaptable: Heck! Just think of all those interminable meetings where your only ally from serious brain numbing boredom was reshaping the humble wire clip. Enduring: I have no idea when the paperclip was invented. I surmise that it was created by those clever Chinese who seem to have invented everything useful to mankind.
But one thing is for sure, the humble paper clip is still relevant. The last time I looked, Macintosh still had that cleverly-installed tiny hole the precise diameter of the sturdy paperclip wire right next to the CD drive on all Power PCs so as to release the CD in the event of a jam!
What will they think of next?