Moving a design from fine to GREAT

Over the weekend, I found myself asking, "How can I push this design from 'fine' to 'GREAT'". Of course, there is no clear answer, but I started thinking about COLOR. If I were to add a brighter/darker/different/unexpected color in some proportion (a little or a lot), would it "Make" this design?

What about TEXTURE? If I were to add texture either in the stitch or on the surface or with the yarn.... would that "Make" this design better? Or if I were to vary the texture in some areas but not others... would that push it to great?

What about SHAPE? Is there something that needs to be tweaked about the shape of the item either overall or in parts that will transform this project from average to unique?

What about BALANCE? Is it too symmetrical? If I do something to knock it off balance and make it asymmetrical, will it make it better?

Probably a question that might be overlooked is "Is it overdone?" Do I need to take something off, simplify, or make this less fussy in order to make it better?

It can be really hard to look at a design objectively, without any feelings about it, like you've never seen it before, like someone else made it. Answering some of these questions help me to see the project for what it is and hopefully make it great.

When in doubt, throw in a photo of an animal! From this angle, it looks like the giraffe is giving Chickee a kiss, but really she is feeding it a slice of sweet potato.