Yes, you want the chainline to be in the middle of the cassette. OP is talking about a new build, so it is a matter of getting the right length BB for the frame, crankset, etc.

I thought I had dialed mine in right when I built my new commuter after researching all those dinky little specs, but I wound up gooning things up (perhaps). By mounting the chainring on the other side of the spider, everything was perfect. There's some info on Sheldon's site and then you have to do a lot of hunting and guessing elsewhere.