Email marketing continues to offer the highest return on investment (ROI) compared to any other marketing channel, making it an essential tool for businesses. A critical component of a successful email marketing campaign is good design, which significantly influences its overall performance. In addition to this, email design trends are constantly evolving, much like fashion, making it crucial for marketers to stay current with the latest styles and innovations.
In this context, we will explore the email design trends that are predicted to dominate the landscape in 2025 and provide insights on how you can effectively incorporate these trends into your own marketing emails. By doing so, you can enhance your campaigns’ effectiveness, engage your audience more successfully, and ultimately drive better results for your business.
Email design trends in 2025
You don’t need to be a designer to create a beautiful email. However, you need to be aware of what your audience engages with and what converts. If you don’t have a big enough sample to run tests, it may be hard to figure it out, so it’s best to rely on industry trends. And knowing the primary email design trends is a great way to get started.
Minimalism & text first
Recently, minimalist and text-first web designs have become increasingly popular, and this trend is now reaching into marketing emails. It’s especially popular for automated onboarding emails among B2B SaaS, but it’s also beginning to find its way into some newsletters, which are adapting to a clean and straightforward design.
Though this design might not be very exciting, the email layout feels familiar and relatable, similar to an email sent through Gmail. This gives it the appearance of a general conversational email, making it look more personal and natural for the recipient. The minimalist approach removes extra elements, allowing the text to stand out and convey the message clearly and directly.
GIFs and eye-catching graphics
GIFs and eye-catching graphics are quickly becoming popular in email marketing, after already being widely used on social media and messaging apps. In 2025, emails will likely include more GIFs, illustrations and animated graphics, which are all known for being eye-catching. These elements not only capture the recipient’s attention but also engage them in a more memorable way, enhancing the overall user experience and brand recognition.
Use of emojis
Emojis are becoming more popular in email marketing campaigns because they have the ability to add personality, show emotion, and significantly boost customer engagement. We’ll see more emojis not only in email content but also in subject lines and preview text.
Many newsletters and businesses are also using emojis as branding tools. For this, an emoji is chosen to represent their brand logo or identity and is used consistently in their subject lines and preview text. It creates a unique and memorable brand image that is visible even before the recipient opens the email.
Use illustrations and images for a personal touch
In 2025, every other person seems to have their own newsletter, and almost all businesses are actively running email marketing campaigns. This situation makes it harder to grab users’ attention and make them feel connected to a brand.
One effective strategy to address this issue is by adding personal touches to emails. This includes adding hand-drawn illustrations and images of the people behind the email, which makes the recipients feel more connected to the people behind the brand.
Including a photo of your team or a headshot next to your signature would serve the same purpose. It shortens the distance between you and the reader and creates a more personal connection.
Eye-catching visual
While hand-drawn illustrations and personal images have been popular in newsletters, crisp, eye-catching visuals have also been steadily gaining popularity in other types of marketing emails.
It is seemingly more popular in B2C businesses like e-commerce brands. These visuals aim to excite the user and drive engagement, which ultimately increases conversion rates.
Complementing bright colours
Bright colours are making a significant comeback in email design for 2025. This trend is becoming increasingly popular as many brands are already starting to adopt vibrant, complementary colours in their marketing emails.
The reason behind this shift is that bright colours can grab attention and spark interest. Studies have also shown that bright colours can boost conversion rates.
Mobile-first design
According to Similarweb, mobile devices now contribute to an impressive 67.48% of internet traffic, significantly surpassing the traffic generated by desktop devices. This shift highlights the growing importance of optimising for mobile users. Additionally, a rising number of individuals exclusively use their mobile devices to engage with their emails, making it a crucial consideration for marketers.
This change has made it essential for email designs to prioritise a mobile-first approach, particularly if you are a B2C brand looking to connect effectively with your audience. In 2025, it’s more important than ever to make sure your email marketing works well on mobile devices. To avoid problems, always test your emails on mobile devices before sending them to ensure your subscribers have a smooth and engaging experience.
Dark mode and accessibility
A survey conducted by Litmus Analytics showed 29% of subscribers using MacOS, iOS, and Outlook for Mac were utilising Dark Mode in 2020. By the end of 2022, that percentage had increased significantly to 40%. The number is even higher for Android, 82%, based on a 2020 survey.
Even though the survey data might be a bit dated, it’s evident that the popularity of dark mode has increased enough to make email marketers start prioritising their email design to work well on dark mode as well.
Conclusion
Staying ahead of email design trends is key to maximising your email marketing ROI. By embracing minimalism, incorporating GIFs and emojis strategically, prioritising mobile-first design, and ensuring dark mode compatibility, you can create engaging email experiences that resonate with your audience in 2025 and beyond.
Remember, testing is crucial. Before hitting send, always preview your emails across various devices and email clients to ensure your message is delivered effectively and captivates your readers.
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