People have already mentioned Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language and Timeless Way, but I'll note that he has further distilled those ideas in his The Nature of Order Series: http://amzn.to/2b4XYf5

1. Levels of Scale 2. Strong Centers 3. Thick Boundaries 4. Alternating Repetition 5. Positive Space 6. Local Symmetry 7. Good Shape 8. Deep Interlock and Ambiguity 9. Gradients 10. Contrast 11. Echos 12. Roughness 13. The Void 14. Simplicity and Inner Calm 15. Each in the Other

His most recent and probably more important work on the Nature of Order:

http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Order-Phenomenon-Environmental-...

You may know the architect Christopher Alexander from "A Pattern Language" and his influence on design patterns/agile.

Later in life he studied the organizing principles of nature and well-man-made artifacts and discussed the common patterns in his books "On the nature of order" [1]. The ideas are perhaps more grandiose than this author is discussing, but also very interesting when applied to engineering.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Order-Phenomenon-Environmental-...