Quorum sensing signals have evolved for population-level signaling in bacterial communities and are versatile tools for engineering cell–cell signaling in synthetic biology projects. Here, we characterize the spatial diffusion of a palette of quorum sensing signals and find that their diffusion in agar can be predicted from their molecular weight with a simple power law. We also engineer novel dual- and multi-input promoters that respond to quorum-sensing diffusive signals for use in engineered genetic systems. We engineer a promoter scaffold that can be adapted for activation and repression by multiple diffusers simultaneously. Lastly, we combine the knowledge on diffusion dynamics with the novel genetic components to build a new generation of spatial, stripe-forming systems with a simplified design, improved robustness, tuneability, and response time.