Designing Emails That Get Noticed: A Designer’s POV

Your emails design could be the reason why your reader only skims the message or why they dive deep into the content. Nailing the design is a key element in how your emails perform. When someone opens your email, they should instantly know they’re in for some great content from your brand. A well-crafted design does just that, leaving a lasting impression of quality.

I’ve spent years designing various styles of emails as Force24’s lead Creative Designer. My email experience ranges from event invites to product focused announcements to thought leadership pieces plus much more. I’ll share my favourite tips that I’d give marketers new email design or seasoned professionals who are looking to try something new.

Templates and Layouts

When it comes to email design it’s easy to get carried away with making it look cool, but I’ll warn you that it’s not just about making it look nice. It’s important to maintain a cohesive tone, especially if you’re creating a journey or a cadence of emails, with captivating copy, a reader-friendly design, and an intentionally placed call to action (CTA.)

When building an email, start with a template that’s not only flexible, but also helps you keep things consistent across all your messages. The golden rule is to make sure your template is responsive. There’s no way to guarantee what kind of device your readers will be using, they could even be switching between desktops and mobile devices, so you need to be sure your emails look flawless on any screen. Responsive design is crucial for making sure your content is easy to read and navigate, no matter the device or app, and this can be huge for your engagement rates.

Whilst on the topic of templates: don’t be afraid to use plenty of padding in your emails. Give your content some breathing room, whether it’s spacing out your copy or increasing line height, can significantly boost readability and engagement.

I typically use at least 72 pixels of padding on either side of our emails. It might sound like a lot, especially with the standard email width maxing out at 600px, but it’s worth it. When your content isn’t squashed against the edges, it stands out much more and creates a better polished, easy-to-read design.

Using the above, here are some examples of different email templates and when to use them:

Single Column

Perfect for when you have a single focus or need to deliver important information without distractions. Ideal for transactional emails, newsletters, notifications, product updates and similar content.

Inverted Pyramid

Great for guiding readers toward a specific call to action, using persuasive copy and a strong visual. Best for product recommendations, upsell/cross-sell offers, new stock announcements and similar emails.

Simple Multi-Column

Use this when you need to share multiple content blocks in one email. Works well for article/link/news round-ups, product recommendations and other content-heavy emails.

Zig-Zag

Designed for creating a visually engaging Z-pattern that adds a dynamic feel as readers scroll. Just be careful with mobile rendering, as content can stack incorrectly if not optimised. Suitable for article/link/news round-ups, product recommendations and similar layouts.

Hybrid

Mix and match elements from different templates to create a unique, creative layout that stands out. Perfect for showcasing a gallery of event images, or bringing any other imaginative idea to life in your email design.

Branding, Colours, and Fonts

Colours are more than just what goes well together, use them to guide your readers’ eyes to the most important parts of your message. Stick to your brand’s colours, but be sure to use dark text on a light background for the email body (or vice versa), and reverse it with light text on a dark button for your CTAs (or vice versa again depending on your email background colour). Tools like “Are My Colours Accessible?” can help you make sure everyone can see your content clearly, even if they don’t have perfect vision.

Go with web-safe fonts like Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, or Times New Roman, so your text shows up correctly no matter where it’s being viewed. Find a list of web-safe fonts here.

The Visuals

Icons, images, and other graphical elements make your emails more engaging especially if the messaging is simple or the copy needs a visual aid. However, don’t go overboard with animated GIFs, as they can be more annoying than helpful and affect deliverability. Too many moving parts can slow down your email or mess with how it loads. This could lead to your email not displaying correctly, or worse, even getting flagged as spam.

Another aspect to consider is the balance of text to graphics in your content. While image-only emails are visually appealing and allow total creative freedom, they face similar challenges to GIF-heavy emails. Since images might not always load on the recipient’s end, they may leave your email appearing blank and ineffective, it’s smart to take inspiration from image-only designs, but also incorporate live text. This way, even if the images don’t load, your message still gets through. This approach not only boosts the visual appeal of your emails but also ensures they perform better overall.

Once you’ve added your visuals, it’s so important to send test emails to multiple accounts to see how everything looks on different devices and apps. This step is crucial to ensure your emails look exactly how you planned when they land in your recipient’s inbox.

Email design recap

A good design isn’t just nice to have; it’s a must if you want to boost your email marketing metrics. Clean text, sharp images, and a user-friendly layout, make for a better reader experience.

If you don’t have an appointed graphic designer on your team, leveraging all the information and guidance above will help you maintain a high standard for your email designs. By applying these principles, you can ensure that your emails are not only visually appealing, but also consistently clean and easy to read. This approach will effectively convey your intended message and enhance the overall impact throughout all your future campaigns.