Do you care about the LOOK???

Damn right I do but only for certain gear. Mains/Center speakers and their respective amps are very important.
Pre-pro and CD players are moderately so. Projectors, surrounds, surround amps, switchers, DVD players, cables, tuners, etc are not important.

I like my electronics and speakers visible in open racks and amp stands so design is important to me.

JM Lab's new Electras are the most gorgeous speakers right now. I'm sure they sound beautiful too. My wallet diagrees though :)

A definite "YES".

I will never consider buying an item if the look is not up to my expectation.

Just imagine that u're spending your time relaxing, listening & at the same time appreciating a beautiful pair of speaker, same apply to equipment.

I have broken through the "matched black box barrier"--looks matter & some good designers realize that.

Well maybe it's a ''really nice piece of gear with a great personality and after all it's what's inside that counts....when the looks go what do you have'' ......words from a single audiophile man.

Yes,

Very much so. The Proceed PRE is in my opinion one of the ,ost appealing designs--, same for the whole line. The old Sherwood tube tuners wth their long dials and green lighting. The Dynaco FM-3, very simple and timeless. The MC-275. Yes, I am very much hooked on good industrial design. Same with cars, the dashboard and controls are where i sit for hours a week. If they don't cut it, the car doesn't get bought.