In contrast to phthalocyanines, the self-organization and -assembly of tetraazaporphyrins (TAPs) is much better controlled by molecular design because their intermolecular interactions are less dominated by the cofacial interactions between TAP macrocycles. Presented here are different molecular designs for surface active amphiphilic TAPs and for self-organizing TAPs. The amphiphilicity and thin film structures of the former compounds were studied by the LB technique whereas the self-organization of the latter compounds was studied by optical microscopy, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction. Also presented are self-organizing and amphiphilic TAPs that contain reactive groups for their cross-linking. Specifically, click chemistry based on azide and acetylene groups is shown to cross-link TAPs in LB-films and columnar mesophases and anisotropic polymeric materials containing TAPs were obtained by the polymerization of diacetylene groups.