list of documents view

I think it would be nice for heavy users if there were alternative view(s) of one's documents.

It is sometimes hard to read the titles, dates last modified, dates created, and other info to find the exact document I would like to view/work on.

If one could use other clues, this task could be made easier. The ones I can imagine are -
different icons to different types of documents
spatial grouping of documents on a virtual deskspace, as opposed to a list
coloring, marking, or otherwise manipulating the deskspace/background

Well, just a thought.