A system, where structure formation can be visualized directly is given by a colloidal mono-layer which forms a hexagonal crystal in two dimensions. The phase transition is described by the so-called Kosterlitz–Thouless–Halperin–Nelson–Young theory where translational and orientational symmetry are broken by two Kosterlitz–Thouless transitions. The corresponding topological defects are dislocations and disclinations in two dimensions. The latter are nothing else but the monopoles of the high-symmetry phase within the six-fold director field of crystal axes. A special feature of Kosterlitz–Thouless transitions is the exponential divergence of correlation times and length (instead of algebraic ones). This serves a transcendental equation which can be solved numerically. The figure shows a comparison of the Kibble–Zurek scaling with algebraic and exponential divergences. The data illustrate, that the Kibble–Zurek mechanism also works for transitions of the Kosterlitz–Thoules universality class.