1. MINIMALIST DESIGN

Minimalist design prevails throughout all marketing mediums -- from print to digital, from email to web design. Here are some elements of minimalist design.

• Muted Colors: Like dark mode, soft color palettes can alleviate symptoms of eye strain.

• White or Negative Space: Effective use of white space allows the brain to scan, interpret, and break down elements into digestible pieces. It lets readers focus on only the most important elements of the email.

• Simple Typography: The first question you should ask yourself about your font pertains to legibility -- the ability to distinguish one letter from another. You spend almost twice as much time reading italic and decorative fonts as you do reading default and easy-to-read ones.

No matter how much information you need to convey with your email, less is almost always more. It’s best to avoid overcrowding your email with extra images, graphics, or text that may not contribute to the overall message and action you want your consumer to take.

With a minimalist design, simple font, and only a few iconic images, email can be both visually powerful and digestible at the same time. 

2. INTERACTIVITY  - VIDEO & ANIMATION

Static email content is pretty much dead, and interactivity is here to stay.82% of email users prefer receiving emails with interactive content over traditional passive messages. 

There are many ways to introduce interactivity to your emails -- from games to artificial reality to other forms of rich media. Even image carousels, menus, and some clickable items can be considered interactive.

Interactive content evolved 2020 and will take off even more in 2021. Studies show that interactive emails increase click-to-open rates by an astounding 73% -- and by 300% when you add video or GIFS to your emails. 

Up to this point, animation has primarily been used in email marketing to entertain and make an email more dynamic. However, its purpose is becoming more functional. Many marketers are using custom animations to highlight the technical characteristics and main benefits of their products.

Not only does movement get people’s attention, but it can set your email apart from a static one. Even just a little bit of movement can be enough to surprise your reader and trigger their interest. 

3. DARK-MODE

Do you prefer reading on a dark or light background? 

Last year marked the adoption of dark mode by three of the world’s top service providers: Apple, Google, and Microsoft. 

As the usage of digital devices continues to rise, dark mode is oftentimes the preferred user experience setting. In fact, 80% of American adults use digital devices for more than 120 minutes each day and 67% using more than two devices simultaneously.

Dark mode rose to popularity because it removes blue light -- allowing consumers to relax their eyes and avoid the jarring brightness of a normal smartphone screen. Not to mention, it can improve content readability and scanability. And many people actually just have a preference for darker interfaces.

Here are some of the benefits of dark mode:

• It minimises blue light impact 
• It improves readability and scanning
• It’s more convenient to use in a low-light environment
• It saves mobile charge by 50% for Android devices with OLED screens

4. THINK BEYOND THE CONVENTIONAL COLUMN LAYOUT 

Emails typically follow a traditional column layout with elements stacked: an email header, product image, product description, information about the offer, and finally an email footer. Emails can come in the form of a one-, two-, three- or even four-column design.

But in 2020 and beyond, email designers are opting for broken grid layouts. Email designers can use design software to create graphics that give the illusion that there aren’t columns. 

5. BOLD TYPOGRAPHY 

While many email marketers rely on powerful images to capture the reader, this shift to embracing bold fonts is often a successful alternative.

Typography in email has been a hot topic over the past couple of years. 

Historically, choosing the right font for an email wasn’t that daunting -- there were only a limited number of web safe fonts. But with the proliferation of web fonts, web designers can be more creative with their typography. This has led many brands to experiment with more bold typography, especially in the headers and taglines in their emails.

The reason for this trend cropping up? Big, bold fonts are just another way to command the attention of the reader, make a statement, and push key messages.

6. 3D IMAGES

3D and isometric images, illustrations, and graphics have been gaining a lot of popularity over the years.

In contrast from flat images, 3D graphics and images add depth and volume to your emails. The 3D effect also helps provide another dimension to the overall email design.

When incorporating 3D effects, it’s often best to just focus on one element. Add too many 3D elements, and you may overwhelm your readers. Make sure to make your 3D element big enough, place it in the middle, and don’t let it overshadow other important parts of your email, like your call to action.