Fluorescence imaging and detection rely on labels with high "brightness", defined as the product of molar extinction coefficient and fluorescence quantum yield. Natural proteins such as phycobiliproteins are exceptionally bright fluorophores because they contain many fluorescent dyes bound to the same protein. This lecture will describe synthetic analogues of phycobiliproteins consisting of fluorescent dyes that bind to a nanostructured DNA template. Each DNA template can bind up to 15 fluorescent dyes, resulting in very high extinction coefficients. Two different approaches for shifting the emission wavelength without changing the excitation wavelength involve Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET). In one case, FRET occurs between co-intercalated donor and acceptor dyes while in the second case, efficient FRET between intercalated donors and acceptor dyes covalently attached to the DNA termini is observed. These DNA-dye arrays can be used as labels for flow cytometry analyses and confocal microscope imaging of cells and synthetic particles. Future strategies for enhanced brightness and uses in biosensing technologies will be discussed.