Macroscopic viscous flow fields can direct self-assembly of a random solution of particles into ordered crystals. However, the assembled particles tend to disassemble when the flow is stopped or removed. Shear flows are useful for jammed suspensions or random close packing. As these systems begin in nonequilibrium, flow fields are useful in that they help the system relax towards ordered equilibrium. Flow fields are also useful when dealing with complex matrices that themselves have rheological behavior. Flow can induce anisotropic viseoelastic stresses, which helps to overcome the matrix and cause self-assembly.