I recently had a conversation on Twitter about developers and designers that started with:
Mark Dalgleish
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My title says Graphic Designer, I work on a range of projects, from web apps, simple sites and emails, and usually build them on my own.
But based on my experience, I strongly agree with what you've said about designers working closely with developers.
We should leave this "give me a spec and leave me alone" attitude in 2007, where it belongs.
I'm a designer/developer hybrid (with an emphasis on the designer part), and the distinction you made at the end of this post is what's always mattered most to me, because I very much approach design as an exercise in creative problem-solving, even if the medium isn't visual.
It's what I call the difference between being a designer and being a design thinker. If you're the latter, then every potential problem or situation becomes an opportunity to actively design abstract solutions. In the words of Don Norman, "All artificial things are designed." What I take from that quote is that you can either passively or actively engage in the design process at all levels if you make the conscious choice to, because otherwise your lack of a choice is still an implicit design decision.
I especially agree with your quote from Andy Ingram where he emphasizes the role of holistic thinking in good design.
i virtually spend much time trying do a good design while coding. It gives you a big time filfulment