The interest in writing an easy-to-use general form of normal-coordinate analysis came from our investigations surrounding the "Mondrian" symmetry graphs (see Figure ), in which the dissymmetric modes of a molecule are presented as a pseudo-artwork pastiche. The emergent features of these graphs were intriguing, especially the Lshaped correlations between the in-plane and out-of-plane features, often observed for a porphyrin distorted from regular structure. Similarly, the regularity of logarithmic molecular distortion was both aesthetically pleasing and implied that there may be a deeper relationship between the elements of molecular structural distortion. As part of projects aimed at using conformational design for the molecular engineering of functional porphyrin scaffolds, we have investigated the structural underpinnings of porphyrin-based chiral sensors and organocatalysts, where large and small distortions from structure both play an important role. 'Artworks' such as the 'Mondrian plots' present a view into an obfuscated world of picometer-scale distortion and fine control, allowing a simple additive metric for understanding this molecular chirality. The additive nature is important, as any chiral photochemical or templating effect can be expected to grow in proportion to the dissymmetry imposed on the molecule.