Abstract: Aspects of the invention relate to systems and methods that allow tufted material designers to design within the bounds of what is possible. The invention provides a design tool that bridges the gap between the aesthetic designs or inspiration in the minds of designers and the capabilities of multiple tufting alternatives (e.g., different machines, different setups, etc.). So, for a given desired aesthetic appearance (e.g., a picture of a coconut), a designer can use the design tool to simulate what is possible through various tufting alternatives. In certain embodiments, for a given aesthetic or inspiration, the designer can test what the aesthetic would look like when implemented under the alternative potential configurations. The tool further allows the designer to limit the group of potential configurations by specifically selecting certain constraints (e.g., selecting a particular machine).