Abstract: An inventive method and system for allowing visitors of a web site to customize design elements into a final unique design through the use of an intuitive drag-and-drop or click-and-place method of assembly is presented. The inventive method and system enable better simulation of the highly visual, interactive, experimental and iterative creative design process employed by people when building artistic designs including jewelry. The drag-and-drop or click-and-place technique of putting gemstones into settings is analogous to an artist creating a painting by iteratively picking up a particular paint color with a paintbrush and placing the selected paint on a particular spot on a canvas.