Side-chain functionalized polymers have a profound impact on complex materials synthesis with a variety of applications ranging from liquid crystalline and electro-optical materials to drug delivery systems. In the last decade, the use of self-assembly towards the synthesis of side-chain functionalized polymers has been investigated extensively as a result of its modular character and ease of synthesis. This tutorial review describes recent advances in the literature and establishes basic design principles and synthetic approaches towards the fabrication of supramolecular materials that are based on side-chain functionalized polymers.