Last week I had the opportunity to talk with Lee Wallender he is an editor at about.com about CeilingConnex. It was a good talk about Direct Mount Ceiling Grid Systems. We spoke in-depth how they compare to suspended and drop ceiling. We also talked about setting your space apart from the "office" look you see with so many drop ceilings. That is in the tile - Ceiling Tiles from Ceilume, Armstrong and Genesis that have definition and shape go along ways towards distracting your eye away from the grid. The tiles I chose for my personal basement actually drop below the surface of the grid 5/8" hiding the actual grid and providing a great look.
You can check out the entire article Lee wrote here: http://homerenovations.about.com/od/ceilings/tp/Direct-Mount-Ceiling-Grid-and-Tiles.htm