Esthetics

This came up a bit recently, but i'd like to know more from others.

How do you all determine the esthetics of your conlangs? Do you have a
formal system of rules governing combinations of vowels, consonants,
dipthongs, etc. etc.? Or do you just go by "feel"?

Montreiano was easy,  I just determined which sound changes I liked,
didn't like, but were still plausible for it (such as keeping
similarities to Portuguese and Castillian, but adding in those I can
see and hear happening with Spanish speakers here (such as the loss of
intervocalic and final |d|))

Ayhan was a matter of mapping out the allowable consonant clusters,
initial and medial, but part of it is how the words "feel" to me. That
roadmap also made it easier to constrct words with the right "flavor"
(a sort of general south east Asian feel, with a slight Philippine
lean.)



--
The king of the jailhouse
and the queen of the road
think sharing the burden will lighten the load
So they pack up their troubles in an old cadillac
that's her in the mirror asleep in the back

King of the Jailhouse - Aimee Mann

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