Iridium complexes are drawing great interest because they exhibit high phosphorescence quantum efficiency. Extensive efforts have been devoted to the molecular design of ligands to achieve phosphorescent emission over a wide range of wavelengths that is compatible with many applications. In this research news article, we focus on materials design to improve the performance of phosphorescent Ir(III) complexes for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), luminescence sensitizers, and biological imaging.