A method for creating a three-dimensional (3D) graphical user interface (GUI) involves creating a first two-dimensional (2D) container and a second 2D container, and placing the first 2D container and the second 2D container in a 3D environment to create the 3D GUI, wherein the orientation of the first 2D container in the 3D environment and the orientation of the second 2D container in the 3D environment are set prior to run time.