In this talk, I will give a broad-brush overview of three areas in the field of animal coloration in which I think we have much to learn and discover – and the current efforts of my group to tackle a small part of them. The first area is the function and perception of iridescent and shiny colours that change appearance as signallers or receivers move. The second area is the intersection between light and heat – optical properties beyond the limits of human and animal vision and their consequences for thermal control. The third area is new ways to produce colour through pigment-structure interactions. These areas hold great promise for both fundamental biological understanding and bioinspired applications.