Structural studies of substituted 1,3,5-benzenetrisamides, a new family of highly versatile and efficient nucleating and clarifying agents for polymeric materials, are reported. Subtle details of the molecular structure of these species are shown to have a major influence on their solid-state order, morphology, and ability to nucleate specific polymorphs of isotactic polypropylene and induce a broad spectrum of useful mechanical and optical properties in the latter material.