I'm a software architect/engineer, and when I translate "design", sometimes it is a "projeto" (project), and in other situations it is just a "desenho" ou "desenhar" (something like: to draw, to scribble, to sketch).
When it refers to a big issue, which includes concepts, process, to make or construct something, and so on, it is a "projeto", but when I need to refer for our minds, conception,... like as when we leave our minds flow, a brain storming, putting them in a paper, I translate it as a "desenho". Examples:
- Desenhei um novo algorítimo muito mais eficiente que o atual. (
O algorítimo não precisa ter sido construído, foi apenas concebido, "glimpsed", "sketchy", "outlined")
- Esta camada do sistema foi desenhada sob aspectos e conceitos diferentes dos que conhecemos. (Novamente aqui tem o conceito de concepção, embora possa ter sido construído neste caso, estamos nos referindo aos conceitos por trás da camada como ela foi desenhada, concebida, abordada - "it's how about it was approached")
But, when it has the meaning of style, aesthetic, look... So, in this case, in Brazil at least, the "design" takes place (foreignness), although there are words like "aparência", "estilo", "estética", and so on, "design" seems to sound or have more appeal for professionals that deals with the "aparência das coisas".
As the last example: When in portuguese someone says something like "Esse produto tem um design revolucionário", although there can be the meanings of "architecture", "concepts", "usability", "look/aesthetics", usually they are heard by Brazilians that the product has a revolutionary "look", "shape", "appearance", sometimes "feel (look&feel)", nothing or very little about the others meanings that the word design has in English.