Out of the main five senses web designers and developers really only use one when it comes to designing for the web. Now I’m not saying web designers don’t use those other four senses, but in our line of work we really only use our sight. You can argue that hearing is used, which is true in some cases but not in all. Taste and smell are simply out of the question right? You can’t possibly know what a website smells or tastes like.

I am attempting to take a look at 10 popular websites and determine what they smell like using a variety of factors such as color scheme, layout, and the overall appeal. It mind sound kind of crazy but its actually rather fun. Ok lets get started

Web Designer Depot

Web Designer Depot is one of the most popular design blogs on the internet so I figured I’d analyze it with the smell test. When you first visit their site you get a splash of red and warm colors. They have clean typography nothing too heavy.

Its Smell

I would say WDD smells like Cherry Pie with a buttery crumb topping.

Six Revisions

Six Revisions is an awesome design blog that focuses on all things web. This was a tough one, I really had to dig deep for this one. It’s got clean typography, simple color scheme, and a fair amount of border usage.

Its Smell

I would say Six Revisions smells like burnt rubber.

Spoon Graphics Blog

Chris Spooner has done an amazing job with his blog which focuses on Illustrator tutorials. To me this one came easy, its got a brown color scheme with lots of graphics.

Its Smell

I would say Spoon Graphics Blog smells like an old used cardboard box after a 17 hour trip in a hot car.

Naldz Graphics

Ronald Bien has an amazing design blog with lots of freebies like textures and wallpapers. The site has great texture and a cool blue color scheme.

Its Smell

I would say Naldz Graphics smells like that patch quilt in that closet in the basement at your grandma’s house.

PSDTuts+

PSDTuts is a super awesome blog that is part of the Envato network that delivers high quality tutorials based on Photoshop. The color scheme has deep earth tones and vibrant reds, clean typography and great icon usage.

Its Smell

I would say PSDTuts smells like Cinnamon Twists from Taco Bell.

Abduzeedo

Abduzeedo is a beautiful blog with silky grays and vibrant pictures and illustrations. They specialize in Graphic design resources and inspiration.

Its Smell

I would say Abduzeedo smells like a charred medium well steak with a side of A1 sauce.

PSD Fan

PSD Fan has got great photoshop resources for any avid photoshoppper. It has a very light color scheme with a little bit of lime green thrown in for contrast.

Its Smell

I would say PSD Fan smells like a Green Apple Jolly Rancher.

Fuel Your Creativity

Fuel Your Creativity has an amazing three column layout with a great color scheme. Great usage of icons and “3D-ish” elements.

Its Smell

I would say Fuel Your Creativity smells like a Strawberry Pop-Tart immediately after popping up out of the toaster.

DesignM.ag

DesignM.ag is a design blog where you can submit articles and news to and provides you with insight on how to become a better designer. It’s got some splattered and grungy textures used throughout the site.

Its Smell

I would say DesignM.ag smells like that stale fruit cake your Aunt gave you in your stocking last Christmas.

Cats Who Code

Cats Who Code is a fantastic WordPress development blog that gives you great tutorials on how to get the most out of WordPress. It has a simple layout with illustrations and a blue and gray color scheme.

Its Smell

I would say Cats Who Code smells like the ocean on a cold winter night.

The Smell Challenge

I challenge you to not only browse these great blogs, but to visualize how you think they would smell. If you have any smells please feel free to put it in the comment section.

I am excited to announce that my first post for Six Revisions has been published. I would like to thank Jacob Gube for helping me through this process to get to the finished product. He is a talented stand up guy who I am looking forward to working with in the future.

This is an exciting moment for Three Styles and I want to thank all of the faithful readers for supporting us.

Head on over to Six Revisions to check out my christmas list post!

I am extremely excited about launching the mobile version of Three Styles! Mobile devices that browse the web are rising in number each month so it was important to me to have a fast mobile version of Three Styles.

I had recently seen that Web Designer Depot used a company called Mobify to create their new mobile site. It’s clean, fast and still looks great, so I thought I’d give Mobify a chance.

My Experience with Mobify

At first I had a little trouble with the Mobify UI, it just seemed a little confusing, but as I kept plugging away it became easier and easier.

I love the fact that it lets you pull in the content you choose directly from your site. There is a choose screen, and you click to highlight the section you would like on that particular page template, then you take all of the highlighted pieces into the design mode.

The design mode allows you to add the CSS necessary to get the look and feel that you want. It is also great because it keeps the same tags as your original site.

My experience with Mobify was outstanding! The technical support guys were there promptly and offered easy solutions to my problems.

Your Opinion

The mobile site is still not complete yet, but I wanted to release a version of it so I can get some feedback from you guys so please let me know what you think.

I am also still using the free plan that Mobify offers but am considering upgrading to the basic plan in the near future.

As the internet has evolved more and more resources/information have become available at the fingertips of web-surfers. The community of designers on the web is unlike any other community I know of. We provide free resources, tutorials, and even free work, with the goal in mind to build a better looking more semantic web experience. I have compiled 15 of my most frequented blogs and will reveal them in this post. Enjoy!

1. Smashing Magazine

2. Six Revisions

3. Naldz Graphics

4. Web Design Ledger

5. Web Designer Depot

6. I Love Typography

7. DESIGNM.AG

8. Web Designer Wall

9. Spoon Graphics

10. NETTUTS

11. 1stwebdesigner

12. You The Designer

13. CSS Globe

14. A list apart

15. Colour Lovers

Take this list and subscribe to everyone of these blogs. They are OUTSTANDING resources for inspiration and learning. I hope Three Styles will be half as successful as all of these guys. Of course there are plenty more blogs that I visit, I just wanted to put together a small list. Do you know of any other great blogs? Comment on this post!