This review, dedicated to Professor Tomás Torres on the occasion of his 65th birthday, offers an overview of the main achievements in his research career. Having a strong background in organic chemistry, he and his group have constantly devoted much effort to the development of synthetic methods towards novel systems based on phthalocyanines and other porphyrinoid analogues. Not less important, the founding of solid collaborations with other prominent scientists has led to study the physicochemical properties of these [Formula: see text]-conjugated dyes, and to evaluate their potential application in multidisciplinary areas such as self-assembly, nanochemistry, optoelectronics and biomedicine.