Last August, designers at Ford Motor Corp.'s studios in Dearborn, Mich., and Merchanick, Germany, were trying to figure out where to put the logo on the new Mercury Cougar. But instead of flying back and forth, they peered into workstations connected to Ford's data-voice-video network and were able to view 3-D images of the car while videoconferencing with each other. Their decision: Put the logo front and center, above the grill. ''It's refining details that makes a design that really sings with the customer,'' says Barry Caldwell, a design supervisor at Ford.

Plain-vanilla videoconferencing is becoming passe at Ford. Integrated voice, video, and data networks such as Ford's are rare, but falling transmission costs and new applications are bringing them into the mainstream. In the next 12 to 18 months, converged networks will be found everywhere, from giant call centers that handle customer phone queries to small businesses using Internet-based audio-videoconferencing programs.

Ford's network is the gold standard. About 120 designers on five continents sign on daily to Silicon Graphics Inc. workstations linked over high-speed phone lines. Designers can share work without worry over location or time zone.

''AN EXPLOSION.'' The most obvious savings is the time and money spent on travel. But Ford officials say the ability of designers to collaborate around the globe also boosts quality and efficiency. Still, data network managers at many companies are wary of adding bandwidth-hungry video and data applications that could bog down their intranets. Their opposition is softening, though, as networking gear becomes cheaper and more reliable. ''Over the next couple of years, we'll see an explosion in applications that take advantage of [multimedia] networks,'' says PictureTel Corp. Chief Executive Bruce Bond. He predicts that up to 60% of PictureTel's 10,000 customers will do at least some videoconferencing over multimedia networks in three years.

Call centers will be among the first to adopt multimedia networks, as they shift to the World Wide Web. In January, Creative Computers Inc. in Torrance, Calif., set up a function at its pcmall.com Web site that allows visitors to click on a button and establish a voice connection with a sales agent. The function has boosted sales dramatically, says Creative Computers Sales Director Jonathan Bumba. Agents can explain Web pages on the caller's screen, promote products, and take credit-card information.

Call-center productivity also gets a boost. Integrated networks can identify each incoming call and match it instantly with the caller's account, placing pertinent data on the screen before an agent answers. Calls can even be outsourced to remote agents at home.

Individuals are getting into the act as well. Although voice and video calls over the Web are subject to delays of two seconds or more, programs such as Microsoft Corp's NetMeeting are smoothing the process. NetMeeting lets customers run audio or videoconferences while sharing applications. Microsoft estimates there are some 5 million regular users.

And researchers keep developing even more sophisticated applications. A consortium including Ford, Silicon Graphics, Sharp Electronics, and others is one of several groups developing ''replacement reality.'' The goal is to go beyond virtual reality with remote technologies that allow more realistic visual, audio, and tactile sensations. Such networks could allow surgeons to guide operations in distant hospitals. That makes designing a logo look like child's play.

By Steven V. Brull in Los Angeles