Three design principles are presented that allow for the molecular design of functional polymer surfaces: surface segregation, surface structure, and surface reorganization. These design principles are illustrated by a description of the behavior of model end-functional polymers that accurately reflect the general behavior of essentially all possible linear functional polymer architectures. Several applications of the design principles are described to show how they may be used to provide molecular engineering solutions for problems of practical interest. The applications include the optimization of functional polymer architectures for producing adhesive and release surfaces, the suppression of dewetting by the use of functional additives to lower the surface tension of a coating, and the creation of smart polymer surfaces with selective adhesion properties. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.