I finished
Designed for Use by Lukas Mathis and I'm in the middle of
Design for Hackers by David Kadavy, and both state precisely the opposite: designing can be learned, and with sufficient training anyone can achieve good, even great design. Awesome design is something else entirely but saying that "only a few" can reach the top is a tautology.
> The definition from good design has shifted from good looking to being good itself.
Ever since Dieter Rams [0] design has never been about "good looking" as an end in itself. In fact aesthetics is almost a byproduct of good design.
[0] http://www.vitsoe.com/en/gb/about/dieterrams/gooddesign