Thermal energy guiding systems and methods for fabricating thermal energy guiding systems are provided. A thermal energy guiding system includes a thermal energy source and an anisotropic thermal guiding coating in thermal communication with a surface of the thermal energy source. The anisotropic thermal guiding coating includes a plurality of layers including a first layer and a second layer. The first layer has a first thermal conductivity and the second layer has a second thermal conductivity. The plurality of layers are non-uniformly arranged on the surface of the thermal energy source in order to guide thermal energy from the thermal energy source according to a thermal energy management objective.