No region of our anatomy more powerfully conveys our emotions nor elicits more profound reactions when disease or genetic disorders disfigure it than the face. Recent progress has been made towards defining the tissue interactions and molecular mechanisms that control craniofacial morphogenesis. Some insights have come from genetic manipulations and others from tissue recombinations and biochemical approaches, which have revealed the molecular underpinnings of facial morphogenesis. Changes in craniofacial architecture also lie at the heart of evolutionary adaptation, as new studies in fish and fowl attest. Together, these findings reveal much about molecular and tissue interactions behind craniofacial development.