Software design is an important step that affects the usability and performance of your code. Unfortunately, this step is often skipped in the mad rush to get results. Here are some important question to ask when considering a design.
Concerning software designs: plan to throw one away. As you develop a project you will likely find that your initial design is flawed or lacking in some respects. This is natural, you should expect to modify (or completely redo) the initial design. If you use a top-down development process, the task of modifying the software design will be simplified. Hopefully you will be able to see the shortcomings of you initial design while you are still in the early stages of the project.