Adjustable control arm lengths for various lift heights?

I'm an amateur at all of this and will probably remain so. So, how do we set up our suspensions to get good geometry, good clearance and excellent handling? What are we looking for, in other words, and how do we go about it? I have clear design goals, but no idea what parts to look for and how to arrange them.
It isn't cheap, it isn't done fast, and it won't work well without attention to detail. You need a mid arm set up, outboarded shocks, around 4" of lift for belly clearance and uptravel and you need good shocks.

Dial all of that in and you'll be fairly impressed at all the things it does well.