The 35 Sexiest Designed Websites you've Forgotten, part 4

Well, the big day is tomorrow. The major reboots are upon us, but I figured it's as good a time as any for me to refresh your memory with the 35 sexiest-designed websites you might have forgotten.

If you're new to my 35-sexiest lists, the basic tenet is, roughly: I refuse to discriminate against any given site type, whether it's flash or css. This is a semiannual showcase of what's achievable in either domain. Simply put - if a site aesthetically impresses me, it makes the cut. In the case of part 4 here, the breakdown is as follows: 18 CSS sites, 12 Flash sites, 5 hybrids.

Oh, and if you're looking for the previous lists: the original, the next, and the third. Hope you enjoy!

Marcelo Wolfgang's Portfolio (CSS). One of the best of the bunch. Conveys information clearly, and you get a real sense that he's not afraid to work outside the box. Great attention to detail.

Planit - Ideas Transform (Flash). Not afraid to use off-the-beaten-path colours and fonts. The site really has a voyeur-type feeling to it, lets the client know that they're not your typical ad agency.

Tony2Nice (CSS). Great blog design, uses just the right amount of bold elements to catch your attention. The style of the site really helps accentuate the content of the site, too.

Section Seven Inc. (Flash). As far as custom-built user interfaces go, this is one of the most innovative I've ever seen. Long load time but well worth it. Devil's in the details, too: small things like the footer blur on mouseout really impressed me.

Nonstep Radio (CSS). One of my favourites of this bunch. Great use of white/colour contrasts, everything is minimal without being too simple.

World Domination Design Group (Flash). Talk about nailing a concept to perfection! They go to exceptional lengths to ensure that their site comes off looking like a 1950s educational film. Blew me away.

Playground Blues (CSS). Nathan Borror's site is brilliant. Great unobtrusive menu, clean information and headline styles, nice gradients and colour contrasts.

Artless Inc. (Flash). Good use of time/context-sensitive contrasts. Take a look to see what I mean.

D. A. Mussatto (CSS/Flash). The flash is not obtrusive, and everything about the site - from the cloud graphics to the horizontal scheme to the bold colours - gives the impression that its creator had a lot of fun making it.

Converse Russia (Flash). Have fun with this one - it's a macro-style site on the small side. Very well executed.

N.Design Studio (CSS). Bright colours usually mean difficult contrast, but this guy's got it right. A beautiful (and usable) portfolio and blog.

Shane Seminole Mielke (CSS/Flash). It's hard to pull off a single-page portfolio with as much stuff as Shane's done. The wood motif is my favourite, and the branding is very well done.

Svenigson (CSS). One of my very favourites of this bunch, he's got a great user interface and he knows the power of monotone contrast. Great find.

Ebon Music (CSS). Nice use of ajax when necessary, and just the slightest bit of flash on the menu. Lots of contrasts going on in a very small area, and one still doesn't feel overwhelmed by it.

Gringo (Flash). With surprisingly short load times, this site absolutely blew me away: their portfolio alone is outstanding, and their transitions from page to page? Fantastic.

Alex Payne (CSS). One of the dudes behind Twitter, and you can see where his style rubs off on it. So minimal, the header and menu are one and the same. I love it.

Bad Assembly (Flash). Utter madness, and I couldn't take my eyes off it. Very well done.

Lifelike (CSS or Flash). Top marks for: 1. creative interface, 2. bold colours, 3. great contrasts, 4. attention to detail (see the menu items and the ripple effect), 5. their flash map mouseover, 6. simplicity, 7. nice use of glow and reflection without becoming tacky, 8. having a solid lo-fi site to work along side their flash version.

Hot Meteor (CSS). Excellent use of branding to promote themselves. Minimalistic and 3-column aren't usually terms you see in the same sentence, but these guys have got it right.

Take Two (Flash). I love macro sites. I love grid-based layouts. I love this site. Want to see how much work they put into this? Check about/People. How many agencies do you know that have you play a game of memory to get to the bottom line? It's fun, and it's got style. Big points.

Carfreaks.net (CSS). Great use of photography and transparent elements. Content is highlighted in all the right ways.

Buzz Recruitment (CSS). Great colour scheme and element emphasis. It's nice to see a web2.0 style used outside of the regular ad-agency/personal portfolio/web app sites.

Bloomindesign (CSS with some Flash). Bold colours, usability-concerned, great branding. Nice shine on the menus, too!

Garn (Flash). serenity + chaos = garn. All sorts of cool.

ExpressionEngine (CSS). So fresh, so clean. Probably the least "forgotten" of this bunch, and that speaks to the tenacity of their site and brand.

Danny Blackman (CSS). Words fail me. Go there now.

Secuoyas (Flash + CSS). Everything is bright and shiney. The colours and style are just right to emphasize the kind of work they do.

Pear Panache (CSS). Talk about loving your earth tones! Pear Panache has a great feel to it and it makes me all sorts of hungry.

Toshiyuki Kuwabara (Flash). Nice colours, cool transitions, great portfolio. The site mascot gets top marks.

Electric Pulp (CSS). Great branding, nice use of monotone contrasts. The illustrated feel of everything makes me quite happy.

Rocketsurgeon (CSS). The very definition of minimal. The message is loud and clear: beautiful, functional user experiences.

Joshua Davis (Flash). Top marks for an innovative user interface. Big contrast highlight/backdrops for menu items give me a warm feeling.

Kostam (CSS). There are grid-based layouts, and then there's this site. Cool branding, too.

Coca-Cola Blak (Flash). It's bright and bold without having neurotic colours. Brown is generally underused, in my opinion, but this site really emphasizes it well.

Shifting Creations (CSS). Nice iconography, and solid folio layout. You can tell he practices what he preaches.

Thanks for the comments: Josh, Jim Whimpey, DeSilva, Tony, Aanika, Priscilia, Snow, Don, Miche Elle, Abramovich.

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