ABOVE are some examples of digital interfaces illustrating different fragrances, which showcase possible approaches to visualising scents. Describing the olfactory experience is a notoriously difficult task, and so far, it seems that everyday digital spaces have seen little creative experimentation or innovation in how scents are presented.
Whether it is recommending a fragrance to a friend, introducing a new perfume line, or telling the audience a compelling story, there are many occasions in life where scents need to be described. Yet, without the ability to experience the scent directly, accurately conveying its essence can be a challenging, if not impossible, task.
In the digital space, perfume retail and review websites are perhaps the most common places where fragrances need to be described. Their primary goal is to attempt to accurately and attractively communicate olfactory experience, but even though their commercial success often depends on how successfully that is done, these platforms often lack innovation and creativity in their approach. As a frequent user, I often struggle to quickly get a clear impression of the perfumes they feature.
The descriptive information available is often scattered across the product page, making it less accessible at a glance. Most platforms rely almost entirely on text descriptions, and when visuals are included, they tend to be sparse and disorganised. Below is a selection of more thoughtful and refined presentations from websites and apps.
Fragrance is notoriously difficult to describe, and out of all the senses, smell is perhaps the most elusive. Unlike vision and sound, which can be recorded, transmitted over long distances, and preserved indefinitely, smell requires physical proximity to the source to be experienced. Even touch and taste, though impossible to record directly, can often be explained with great clarity.
Scents are intangible and lack a clear structure or form, making them inherently difficult to conceptualise and articulate. Olfactory perception is deeply subjective, often shaped by personal, cultural, or emotional factors. And more importantly, we simply lack the vocabulary to describe scents directly — we can only draw comparisons to familiar objects or experiences, without ever truly describing the olfactory sensation itself.
Some people are, in fact, able to describe scents with more precision, but their interpretation will likely not make much sense to the majority. These are individuals who experience synaesthesia, a neurological phenomenon where one sense involuntarily triggers another, allowing them to associate smells with colours, shapes, sounds, or even textures. For instance, a person with synaesthesia might very clearly perceive the scent of roses as a soft pink hue or interpret a minty fragrance as sharp and cool like the sound of a high-pitched note. While the majority of people do not experience synaesthesia, it offers inspiration for describing fragrances in unconventional ways.
Communicating fragrance to someone unfamiliar with it requires engaging their imagination and evoking their senses. The aim is to help them picture the experience in their mind. The more details and context you provide, the more vivid and tangible the description becomes. Here are some of the possible means of describing scents:
Verbal descriptions of fragrances can take a literal approach, such as comparing the scent to another familiar fragrance, listing its notes, accords, or perfume family — all classification tools commonly used in perfumery. However, these methods often lack precision, as scent perception is highly personal, and two perfumes that appear similar based on their olfactory profiles can smell surprisingly different in reality. Alternatively, the description can be more figurative and imaginative, focusing on how the fragrance makes you feel or creating a narrative that evokes the same emotions that the perfume would. Storytelling is a widely used method for describing fragrances and is a key element in most perfume advertising campaigns.
Visuals — such as photography, illustration, and video — can also either directly depict a scent and its notes or help tell a story that conveys a particular atmosphere. Images often tend to be more impactful than text since they communicate information in a quicker and a more nuanced way. Video, in particular, is a powerful tool, as it engages multiple senses, blending motion, sound, and visuals to create a more immersive experience.
Colours can be a subtle yet effective way to depict a fragrance, as they evoke emotions and associations that align with the scent. While not as direct or potent as images, colours offer greater versatility in the ways they can be applied.
While more open to interpretation, shapes and textures also can evoke distinct feelings and be used to express a fragrance’s character. For example, soft, rounded shapes might suggest a smooth or gentle scent, while sharp, angular forms could represent something crisp or bold. This idea is exemplified by the "bouba-kiki effect," where people naturally associate certain shapes with specific sensations or qualities.
Sounds, much like video, can help create immersive environments, amplify the sensory experience, and immerse the listener in a headspace that mirrors the mood of the fragrance.
Digital interfaces, such as those used by perfume retail websites, have inherent limitations on how much information they can display. These platforms primarily focus on presenting fragrances in a straightforward manner and helping users compare multiple products, prioritising simple, direct descriptions. In contrast, a brand’s own website, looking to provide a unique and memorable experience, can have more freedom to experiment with creative storytelling and presentation.
While practical, the simplified displays often come across as dull and unengaging, struggling to effectively communicate the perfume's character. Ideally, a balance could be struck — combining clarity with creativity.
The idea behind my version of an improved interface is to condense fragrance description into a single view, offering an easy brief overview. The aim is to make the impression more impactful and as quick to process and as complete as possible, while keeping the experience engaging and immersive. The layout should be kept clean and adaptable to any other perfume variation, allowing for easy comparison between multiple products.
The interface shown below is one of the potential solutions to the challenge. It combines multiple approaches by presenting olfactory data through both structured classification and engaging visuals. Perfume notes are illustrated with realistic photos, while accords are represented using colours and shapes to enhance sensory appeal. The visuals take up most of the space to create a more immersive experience. Additionally, the interface includes key olfactory details such as perfume longevity, gender association, seasonality, and other relevant information.
The fragrance accords are visualised through animated wave-like shapes. Each wave's distinct form, colour, speed, and movement pattern serve as a tool to convey the scent's unique character. This approach has the additional benefit of enhancing accessibility for a wider audience by not depending on colour alone to convey meaning. Alternatively, accords could be represented using static shapes or varying textures, offering a more tactile or symbolic visual language.
In the broader context of the website, additional fragrance information is included that adds depth and context. The overall UI is deliberately minimalistic, monochrome, and clean to keep the focus on the perfume. This design choice prevents any visual clutter from clashing with the fragrance description, allowing it to take centre stage.
THIS article has outlined some of the ways in which communicating fragrance in digital spaces can be approached and the experience of online perfume shopping can be made more engaging and user-friendly. Given that scent representation is still a relatively unexplored area, we will hopefully see more online platforms take creative risks to offer new engaging ways to discover fragrances in the future.
