My fortresses often lack any aesthetic quality.
They are usually quite blockish and square, and "castle like".
(Eg, walls are also used to contain rooms, turrets, and corridors. These usually get used for barraks rooms to suppliment living quarters for migrant waves until I can properly designate or construct proper housing.)
I usually build living spaces in close proximity to a commons area, which I usually built 1 zlevel up from the kitchens/food/booze stockpile, and that is directly above the food growing room.
Industrial farm plots (pigtails, dimple cup, etc) are usually built beneath a special purpose utilitarian food stockpile (which forbids all other plant products and booze), which is in turn beneath the actual industrial zone. These are accessed via a centrally located set of 5 staggered up/down stair stacks in the shape of the purina logo. The output of the industrial zone is 1 zlevel above, which is where finished products go.
Related industries share an industrial level. (Eg, farmers workshop->loom->dyer->clothier->craftsdwarf shop) this allows assembly-lined processing.
Specialized industrial zones are harder to situate, but if I can squeeze it, I will build glassworks, smelters, kilns, and blacksmith shops in the same industrial zone, put metal bar and sandbag storage on that level with them, then put output in the level above. Gemcutters go in the level above that. (So raw glass goes into storage upstairs, (special designation), and the cutters grab it, cut it, and then take it above their work area for storage.) Raw gem storage forbids raw green and clear glass. That is a specially enabled option in the finished goods storage above the glassworks.