Half the battle is actually knowing what you want...
If you know "exactly" what you want, you can probably find what you are looking for in an off-the-shelf production cue... I'm talking about the specs for tip diameter, tip material, ferule material and length, shaft taper, weight, joint style, grip diameter, balance point, shaft flex, etc... Design should be secondary, but let's face it... many of us like to gawk at our cues and say "wow."
Most of those specs you can measure and define with a number. But shaft flex is the big X-factor, as well as the quality of hit is going to feel to you. And some of your preferences will make themselves apparent over the course of time as you get used to what you have and via sampling other people's cues... (assuming you have friends or other league members with their own, who are friendly enough to allow you to hit a few balls with theirs).
Once you get to a certain point with pool, it's almost like two audiophiles trying to explain to each other why one guy likes old Sansui amplifiers and the other prefers the sound of Pioneer... It can reach a point of extreme subjectivity.
Good luck hunting!