My feeling is that every builder has a certain type of sound that is more or less present in everything they build. It's what makes their builds unique, I suppose. So I think it is misleading, even if you have a 1,000,000 word tonal vocabulary and write a 200 page description of what you are looking for, to expect that any experienced luthier will be able to achieve the sound you are looking for.
In my experience, I would expect the builder to be able to start with their characteristic tone and tweak it here or there by adjusting woods, tuning, and selecting the right body for the job. I would posit that you will never get a flavor of that characteristic sound without playing one of these guitars firsthand, and so anything you order sight unseen will be something of a surprise (pleasant or otherwise). I would be wary of luthiers who claim to be able to produce any kind of tone, as I think it's important that a luthier has an established "tonal identity" that guides their build philosophy.
I will also say from the experience of Healdsburg that, although there are a lot of great builders out there, only a small handful really get me excited. So buying sight unseen is a gamble, in my opinion, regardless of how many pertinent questions you may ask. It's a gamble I've actually taken, so I can't exactly advise against it, but you have to be prepared to be open about the results.
Outside of those caveats, I would look for patient builders. You are going to have a long relationship with this person while you design the guitar and over the course of its construction. Someone that has the patience to answer the many, many questions you will undoubtedly have will produce a better guitar and make for a more enjoyable experience. Lastly, look for builders that are flexible. Some builders are fairly rigid in the options they offer or the deviations they will make from their standard designs, either because they don't like to get too involved in a single build or because they are not comfortable taking the risks associated with doing something different. In the case of the former, if you aren't looking for a lot of customization this can be ok (but then again one of the really fun parts of commission a custom build is having it built EXACTLY to your specifications. If you can only choose from a menu, this can be somewhat limiting). In the case of the latter, I would be concerned that the hesitation to move outside of their comfort zone would be a sign of inexperience. In my opinion, a willingness to experiment and innovate is the hallmark of the best luthiers.
Luthier-built guitars, in my opinion, live on a bell curve. There are lots of beautifully constructed guitars that produce above-average tone, but not necessarily inspiring tone (again, this my opinion). The subset or luthiers who are actually gifted enough to producing an inspiring result is small.
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