Dislocations produced during plastic deformation tend to gather in well defined patterns. Both the shape and the structuring degree of these clusters depend on material parameters and on loading conditions. The present work analyzes these relations and classifies the observations in a schematic structural map. While a strong correlation exists between dislocation patterns and mechanical behaviours, it is shown that there is no direct effect of the substructure on either the stress level or the work-hardening rate of the material.