The wide use of porphyrins in synthetic molecular arrays for the conversion of light into chemical energy is based on imitation of nature, which uses closely related chromophores for the collection of light energy, for its storage, transport and final utilization in the photosynthetic reaction centers. The result of a natural selection which has favored this class of chromophores over others is based on the outstanding properties of these molecules as photo- and electro-active units. High absorption coefficients in the visible, high emission yields, possibility to finely tune the spectroscopic and redox properties by simple changes in the molecular structure have been some of the reasons of the success of this class of molecules in the evolutionary competition and have also ensured them a place in chemical research. A reason which increases the degree of their appreciation by photochemists and photophysicists is the fact that the intermediates which follow light absorption are characterized by strong spectroscopic signals, both as emission and/or as absorption features, in the easily accessible UV-vis range. This allows the rare opportunity to precisely identify the intermediates following light absorption and their time evolution with the possibility to detect each elementary step and unravel the complex kinetic schemes associated with photoinduced processes in multi-component systems. This understanding, which has greatly contributed to the fundamental knowledge of photoinduced energy and electron transfer processes, is the necessary basis for the optimization of the design of the structure with respect to the desired performances. Our group has been active in the study of photoinduced processes (energy collection and transfer, charge separation) in multi-component arrays containing porphyrins in the last decade. In the frame of international collaborations with outstanding groups of synthetic chemists we have studied the photoinduced processes occurring in different types of molecular architecture (covalently linked, mechanically linked or self-assembled) and contributed to their design.