>>5611452All the launchers are good really. First off, make the desktop grid 12 and 12 (under nova settings>desktop) if icon placement is important for you. Second, keep in mind that certain icons will throw off certain wallpapers; choose one icon pack or wallpaper as a foundation then build up and experiment around. Third, if you somewhat like something you do but plan on changing it, always screencap it for future reference, you never know what you're going to forget.
Pic related was an idea I scraped for the /w/+memo pad (posted somewhere above this post). The multiple page dock can be your friend if the icon pack is small so you can hide ugly icons to the left or right of the main dock (see pic for 'ugly side dock).