But at that point, it loses all explanatory power, because in that case the "design hypothesis" would be true whether life actually evolved or not. The question of the origin or species would still remain.
You've pointed out a fundamental problem with "intelligent design theory", by the way.
How can that be a problem? That's like saying the problem with the evolution theory is that everything that 'is' evolved. There are only two logical theories: evolution and creation. One requires everything to have evolved the other requires that everything is created.I don't see that as a problem at all. Or maybe, that is the problem with both, and the difficulty in proving either of them.