We are synthetic chemists. We specialize in the synthesis of molecules with designed properties, such as the establishment of chromophores with tuned photophysical properties or systems exhibiting chemosensory characteristics. Porphyrins and porphyrin analogues containing non-pyrrolic building blocks are our favorite molecule classes to work with. We are also interested in the occurrence of non-heme tetrapyrrolic pigments in nature, particularly those used as dyes.