ReviewImag(in)ing growth and form

•How modern imaging technologies are enabling testing of D'Arcy Thompson's ideas.•Thompson's ideas on cell packing have largely stood the test of time.•New technologies are allowing exploration of organogenesis.•Quantitative analysis of the citation legacy of “On Growth and Form”

On Growth and Form has stood at the forefront of our understanding of the development of biological form for the past century. In this essay, I take a look at how modern techniques are enabling unprecedented insight into the spatio-temporal regulation of development, which facilitates testing of the ideas that D'Arcy Thompson laid down so brilliantly 100 years ago.