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The control of cell position and function is a fundamental focus in the development of applications ranging from cellular biosensors to tissue engineering. Using microcontact printing of self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiolates on gold, we manufactured substrates that contained micrometer‐scale islands of extracellular matrix (ECM) separated by nonadhesive regions such that the pattern of islands determined the distribution and position of bovine and human endothelial cells. In addition, the size and geometry of the islands were shown to control cell shape. Traditional approaches to modulate cell shape, either by attaching suspended cells to microbeads of different sizes or by plating cells on substrates coated with different densities of ECM, suggested that cell shape may play an important role in control of apoptosis as well as growth. Data are presented which show how micropatterned substrates …