Bad designer: The work is ugly AND doesn’t function well (most live here).

Good designer: The work is beautiful, functions well, but isn’t justifiable with powerful metaphors (most people using AI live here).

Great designer: All the small and large elements form a cohesive whole, in which each element helps tell the larger story (the holy grail!).

The simple question to ask of each component: Why is this element the way it is? Is it random? Is it just a shiny object? Or is there a defensible reason for why it works like that? Why it looks like that?

Do the macro and micro elements work together or against each other? Or was something done just because “it looks cool”?

Apply this ruthlessly, and watch your storytelling get better and better.