Aesthetic Design
How to define the look and feel of a product/project.
Function and form#
When you design anything, you have to balance a list of design considerations. Two of the biggest are:
- Function
- What a design does, and how well it does it.
- Aesthetics
- How a design looks, sounds and feels to the person using it.
In Project 1, most of your effort went into function: does the print fit, does the part hold up. In Project 2, the circuits are the function, but we’ll also be looking at ways to develop aesthetics. Your goal is a build where those two considerations support each other.
Elements of design#
Designers describe what they see using the elements of design. In Minecraft, these are the ones you control:
| Element | What it means | In Minecraft |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | The hues you use, and how light or dark they are | Concrete, wool and terracotta come in 16 colours. Wood comes in a range from pale birch to dark oak. |
| Texture | How a surface looks like it would feel | Smooth stone is clean. Cobblestone is rough. Mossy blocks look old. |
| Shape and form | The outline of the build and its parts | A tall thin tower, a wide low barn, a dome, a sloped roof. |
| Line | Edges that lead the eye | A row of logs along a wall, a line of lanterns down a hallway. |
| Scale | How big things are compared to the player | A 3-block-tall door feels grand. A 1-block hallway feels cramped. |
Define an aesthetic#
Before you place a single block, write a design statement. This is your Define step for the aesthetic side of the project. Fill in the blanks:
My build is a [type of structure] for [who uses it]. It should feel [word], [word] and [word].
For example:
My build is a secret base for a spy who does not want to be found. It should feel hidden, high-tech and cold.
My build is a farm for a family that lives off the land. It should feel warm, rustic and busy.
Make a mood board#
- Mood board
- A collection of images that shows the look and feel you are aiming for.
Collect 4 to 6 images that match your three words. They do not all have to be Minecraft. A real farmhouse, a movie set or a video game level can all go on a mood board. Put them on a Google Slide or your project page, and write one sentence under each about what you want to borrow from it (a colour, a roof shape, a lighting idea).
Choose a palette#
- Block palette
- The small set of blocks you will build with. It works like a colour palette in art.
The 60-30-10 rule#
Interior designers often split a room’s colours like this:
| Share | Role | Example: cozy cabin |
|---|---|---|
| 60% | Main block. Most of the walls and floors. | Spruce planks |
| 30% | Secondary block. Frames, roofs, trim. | Stripped dark oak logs |
| 10% | Accent. Small details that catch the eye. | Lanterns, red wool |
You can add a foundation block (often a stone, under the main block) and a glass type. That still keeps you at about 5 blocks.
Choose structural motifs#
- Motif
- A shape or detail that repeats through a design and becomes part of its identity.
These motifs work in most aesthetics:
- Frame it. Put a different block (logs, pillars, stone bricks) on every corner and along the edges of walls. This is contrast and line.
- Add depth. Push parts of a wall in or out by one block. Use stairs, slabs, walls and trapdoors so the surface throws shadows. Flat walls look unfinished.
- Give it a base. Start the walls on a row of stone or a darker block so the build looks like it sits on the ground.
- Overhang the roof. Let the roof stick out one block past the walls, using upside-down stairs underneath.
- Repeat your windows. Pick one window design and use it everywhere.
The Furniture tutorial on the Minecraft Wiki has dozens more ideas you can include, including a toilet, a piano and a pool table.
Use the material that matches your palette
Stairs, slabs, trapdoors, fences, buttons and pressure plates come in many materials. A couch made of quartz stairs fits a modern build. The same couch in spruce fits a cabin. Pick the version that fits your palette.