State of modular email design systems 2026
How industries are adopting, which platforms lead, and is it right for you.
13 Email Design Trends
Set to Dominate the
Email Landscape in 2025
13
Business intelligence is nothing without aesthetic intelligence. Your best emails are those that engage the whole human personality, not just meet a specific need. Design is the difference between showing a product or service and presenting it. Yet, email design is not a no-man’s-land. Trends, best practices, customer preferences — these provide a solid backdrop to your aesthetic ventures. Which is why you've gotta keep up. So, we dug back up our crystal ball to catch the email design trends that will be heating up in 2025. Scroll away!
01
Interactivity
E-commerce brands focusing on email marketing will prioritize interactive features like polls, product scrolling, carousels, search bars, and offer reveals. Augmented reality (AR), while yet to be a trend in email, is being adopted by some brands. Notably, many B2Bs are also incorporating interactivity into their email campaigns.
PRO TIPS
- Do not overdo interactivity. Stick to one interactive element per email.
- Make sure your interactive emails are accessible to all.
02
Minimalism
Minimalism is set to remain the benchmark for email design. Brands are likely to rely more on well-shot product images rather than extrinsic design elements to define the look of their promotional emails. In addition, one of the newer aspects to minimalism that we’re seeing is the application of color gradients.
PRO TIPS
- Do not confuse minimalism with simplicity. Minimalism is not the opposite of aesthetics. It is only a more functional/pragmatic side to design.
- Use strong, high-contrasting colors for emphasis. Prioritize sans-serif, large fonts for easy readability.
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03
Accessibility
Accessibility is an evergreen trend. Incorporating features such as alt-text, thoughtful color choices, high contrast, purposeful iconography, clear visual hierarchy, straightforward language, proper text alignment, and progressive disclosure are some effective strategies for creating an accessible design.
PRO TIPS
- Avoid flashy, fast-looping animated GIFs.
- Design prominent focus states. Leverage clear visual flips to differentiate the focus states
- Use ARIA attributes such as tabindex and aria-label for screen readers
04
Gamification
Gamified experiences will continue on with a vengeance. Games are fun, engaging, and promote UX control. Needless to point out, email gamification can be quite resource-intensive. But, all else being equal, gamified emails fire well. Subscribers love it, not least because of the very nature of games in general.
PRO TIPS
- Create easy-to-follow games and tell the rules in simple language.
- Test your gamified emails on all devices and email clients before sending.
05
Unique Layouts
With more brands focusing on selling experiences, traditional layouts are slowly losing the spotlight. The slow but steady shift to in-mail experiences, not limited to AMP alone, may have led to the rise of non-traditional layouts. But whatever the reason, the layout of an email has increasingly a lot to add to your pitches.
PRO TIPS
- If an email is long, feel free to use diverse layouts to maintain engagement.
- Prioritize mobile-first design. We have seen poly-column layouts go horribly wrong on mobile devices.
06
Dark Mode
Reduced glare, improved contrast, and visual attractiveness are key factors that make Dark Mode a timeless trend. Many brands are also leaning toward dark color schemes; notably, this goes with high-end full-bleed photography. The effect is quite immersive, the viewer is only glad to linger. Either way, Dark is here to stay.
PRO TIPS
- Use transparent block dividers and black text on white background.
- Use a transparent PNG with a stroke around the text to ensure it blends seamlessly with the background in the default light mode.
07
Custom Typography
Brands are experimenting with multiple fonts in a single email. But the trend that’s going to rule will be bold, oversized text. Brands are using text as the predominant visual element in email templates. It’s more economical, clearly effective, and it eliminates skimming. In fact, a number of FMCG brands are also using 3D text.
PRO TIPS
- Limit the use of creative, bold typography to hero banners, pillar headings, and CTA buttons — areas suitable to standout features.
- Create responsive typography. Whether viewers see your emails on desktop, smartphone, or tablet, the typefaces should scale well along with design.
08
Color Blocking
To create a clear visual hierarchy, designers are utilizing color blocking in emails. This technique involves organizing rectangular or circular content blocks, each defined by a distinct color, enhancing the overall viewing experience. Although color blocking is based in fashion design, it is gaining traction in the email-scape.
PRO TIPS
- Don’t use too many colors, or you risk confounding the viewer. In fact, you can also use images, instead of colors, to distinguish blocks.
- Pair complementary colors, but avoid pairing two high-saturation complementary ones.
- Experiment with borders and breaking blocks.
09
Ticker GIFs
09
Ticker GIFs
We’ve come across a lot of ticker GIFs in our inboxes. It’s likely to extend beyond 2025 because it’s catchy, simple, and quickly satisfies the universal GIF itch. In terms of accessibility as well, the ticker is neither flashy nor overwhelming. In fact, brands are adding ticker GIFs at the bottom of emails too.
PRO TIPS
- Don’t overuse ticker GIFs. Reserve it for one-off campaigns.
- If you want to make it part of your brand identity and use it in every email, we recommend featuring it at the bottom of your emails to avoid GIF fatigue.
10
Hand Models
A lot of e-commerce brands are increasingly using hand models in their product images. The idea seems to be to make products feel more real to customers. Make them seem more “handy,” if you will. But it’s also convenient and cost-effective.
PRO TIPS
- Hand models can be customized. Based on demographic data, you could showcase hands in various colors tailored to different segments.
11
Image
Personalization
Personalization
Image personalization is something we’ve been coming across this quarter and we expect more brands to adopt it in 2025. Think of image personalization as image-centric personalization. It involves using one hero image related to recent subscriber experiences or where a personalized email has a focal image.
12
Storytelling
Many brands are returning to the storytelling format. The keyword is "format." It’s not just about telling stories; you can also explain things, highlight product features, or even carry mini interviews. You just follow the classic story structure: a beginning, middle, and end. It’s great for keeping subscribers hooked to your email.
PRO TIPS
- While you shouldn’t limit the format to your newsletter, you shouldn’t be overdoing it either. People don’t always want to read through long emails.
- Make sure you have a story to tell, or at least sufficient material to justify the format. In terms of design, distribute content evenly between text and visuals.
13
360-Rotate
The 360-rotate was big in 2024, and given its visual glamor, we expect it to be bigger in 2025. Apart from its instant appeal, it’s also highly useful since it gives an all-round view of a product. Yes, it can be hard to implement, but it works, especially for new arrival campaigns. But, of course, it’s not limited to just those.
PRO TIPS
- Avoid fast rotations as it can hamper accessibility for some viewers.
- Test the feature thoroughly across all email clients and mobile devices.
So, there you go! Keep in mind: The goal is NOT to be trendy, but to create positive brand experiences at every touch point.
Did we miss any trend on our list?
Let us know if something caught your eye!
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