Phospholipid membranes are necessary for the compartmentalisation of chemistries within biological cells and for initiation and propagation of cell signalling. The morphological and chemical complexity of cellular membranes represent a challenge for dissecting the biochemical processes occurring at these interfaces. Therefore, investigations of the biological events occurring at the membrane require suitable models able to reproduce the complexities of this surface. Solid-supported lipid bilayers (SLB) are simplified physical replicas of biological membranes that allow the bottom-up reconstruction of the molecular mechanisms occurring at cellular interfaces. In this brief review we introduce how the properties of SLBs can be tuned to mimic biological membranes, highlighting the engineering approaches for creating spatially resolved patterns of lipid bilayers and supported membranes with curved geometries. Additionally, we present how SLBs have 2 ! been employed to reconstitute the biophysical basis of molecular mechanisms involved in intercellular signalling and more recently, membrane trafficking. KeywordsSolid-supported lipid bilayers, membrane patterning, membrane curvature, synthetic biology, in vitro reconstitution. Impact StatementArtificial membranes with complex topography aid the understanding of biological processes where membrane geometry plays a key regulatory role. In this review, we highlight how emerging material and engineering technologies have been employed to create minimal models of cell signalling pathways, in vitro. These artificial systems allow life scientists to answer ever more challenging questions in regards to mechanisms in cellular biology. In vitro reconstitution of biology is an area that draws on the expertise and collaboration between biophysicists, material scientists and biologists and has recently generated a number of high impact results, some of which are also discussed in this review.