What does it want to be?

What does it want to be?

This will probably sound like an obvious insight but few designers adopt it. 

Treat your new design like a living creation. Put yourself in it's shoes, give it a voice and ask: 

what do I want to be?
Who am I trying to please?
Where are those people?
Can they see me?
If they can't how will they feel when they do?
What qualities do I need to have in order to be worthy of attention?

You'll soon realise that a good design is a lot more that a pretty thing. It has an agenda and it has objectives. Give it a voice. give it a name. Stand back and observe.

I always relate this process to the story of Pinnochio and it's creator Geppeto. You need to become a Geppeto.