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At Email Love, we subscribe to over 5,000 brands across 22 industries. Every month, more than 30,000 emails hit our inboxes. That gives us a pretty interesting view into what different industries are trying, from SaaS companies and DTC brands to restaurants, universities, nonprofits, and apparel companies.

After analyzing thousands of Q4 campaigns, I’m noticing some clear patterns in how brands are approaching email design heading into 2025. Some of these are subtle refinements. Others are bigger departures from what we’ve been doing for years.

Here’s what I’m seeing.

Rounded Corners Are Everywhere

If there’s one thing I’m noticing constantly, it’s rounded corners. Brands are softening their designs by rounding the corners of images, HTML tables, and entire content sections.

The interesting part: rounded corners (using CSS border-radius) work pretty well across most email clients. Gmail, iPhone, and Android apps all render them correctly. Outlook is the main exception, displaying square corners instead (booooo!).

ClickUp does this nicely. Their newsletter structure uses rounded HTML sections, similar to how we’ve built the Email Love newsletter. Each section feels like its own card, and the rounded corners create natural visual separation without needing heavy borders or excessive whitespace.

Juni uses rounded corners on their header images. Square applies HTML rounding to the images themselves. Slate wraps content in rounded, bordered sections that make the email feel less rigid.

Should you try it? If your audience is mostly on Gmail and mobile (check your analytics), it’s worth testing. If you’ve got a lot of Outlook users, you’ll need to decide if square corners are an acceptable tradeoff. Despite Outlook, many brands seem to think the visual improvement is worth it.

Animated GIFS Get Larger and Larger

Brands are using bigger animated GIFs in hero sections. We’re talking 4 to 6 megabyte files, which is pretty massive for email.

These aren’t janky old-school GIFs. They’re often high-quality cinemagraph-style animations. Figs does this really well. Their hero GIFs genuinely stop your scroll, but this example is around 4MB!

The tradeoff: these download fast on good WiFi but can struggle on mobile data or slower connections. You’re betting that the visual impact is worth potentially longer load times for some subscribers.

If you try this, make sure your first frame works as a static image for email clients that don’t support GIFs (like older versions of Outlook).

Micro-Animations Add Subtle Engagement

On the opposite end of the animation spectrum, I’m seeing more brands use small, purposeful animations that add polish without overwhelming the design.

These aren’t big, attention-grabbing movements. They’re subtle touches like animated progress bars or small icons that pulse to draw your eye to important actions.

The keyword here is purposeful. These animations guide attention rather than distract from the message. A progress bar that fills as you scroll down the email. Small loading animations that make interactive elements feel more responsive. Icons that gently animate to highlight key features.

What makes this work is restraint. The best examples use animation to enhance usability and create a more polished experience, not just to show off. When done right, these micro-interactions make emails feel more modern and thoughtful without adding significant file size or load time.

The challenge is that not all email clients support these animations (Outlook, again), so you need to make sure your design still works perfectly when the animations don’t render. Think of them as a progressive enhancement rather than a core part of your design.

Footer Links Get Bigger and More Tappable

Here’s something I’ve been seeing more of: big, easy-to-tap footer links.

For years, we’ve used tiny footer text with links that are almost impossible to tap on mobile. Now brands are using large text with clear hierarchy. Mamet does this well with single-column footer links featuring big text and arrow icons. These scale really nicely on both mobile and desktop.

The logic makes sense: if someone scrolls all the way to the bottom but hasn’t clicked anything yet, make it dead simple for them to keep exploring. Remove every possible point of friction.

Product Photography Gets Simpler

E-commerce brands are moving toward cleaner product shots. Cut-out products on gradient or solid backgrounds instead of busy lifestyle photography.

Brands like Grubby Farms, Stock X, Moon Brew, and Last Crumb Cookies are featuring large cut-out products in their heroes. By removing the background, you put all the focus on the product itself. No distracting elements, no competing visual information.

These also tend to load faster than full lifestyle photos, which helps on mobile.

Emojis Get More Strategic

Emojis aren’t new, but I’m seeing two distinct approaches:

In HTML text: Inline emojis that add personality or break up lists. Works well for visual interest without loading additional images.

As image overlays: Some brands are using transparent PNG emojis overlaid on graphics. This gives more control over size and placement, plus consistent rendering across email clients (since native emoji rendering varies wildly by device).

Used strategically (not excessively), emojis add emotional context and make content more scannable. They convey meaning instantly.

Illustrations Support Content

Custom illustrations are showing up more, but as supporting elements rather than main heroes.

Birth Date Co uses minimal illustrations alongside content. Line Friends Square created animated illustrations for Halloween. Graza uses simple graphics that complement copy without overwhelming it.

The key is these aren’t stock illustrations. They’re custom, on-brand graphics that feel like a natural extension of the content, not decoration added at the last minute.

Mobile-First Layouts Gain Ground

Some big brands are designing emails that are 400 to 500 pixels wide instead of the traditional 600px. Nike, Netflix, Ray-Ban, and Juna are all using skinny, single-column layouts with big text and big buttons.

What I like about this: these look good on desktop AND mobile without relying on media queries to stack columns or resize text. The email just works everywhere. It’s inherently responsive because it was built mobile-first from the beginning.

The tradeoff: less horizontal space means every element needs to earn its place. A lot of these brands aren’t even stacking content because it’s made to work the same way on both desktop and mobile.

Minimalist Layouts Strip Everything Back

Related to mobile-first design, I’m seeing more brands embrace true minimalism. Clean layouts with generous white space, clear headings, and a focus on a single primary call-to-action.

This isn’t just about looking modern. It’s about removing every possible distraction that could prevent someone from taking action. When you only have one CTA, that CTA gets all the attention.

The best minimalist emails use white space strategically. They let content breathe. They make headings pop without needing heavy styling. And they guide your eye naturally from one element to the next without competing visual elements fighting for attention.

This approach requires discipline. You have to be ruthless about what stays and what goes. But when done well, minimalist layouts often outperform busier designs because they make the decision-making process dead simple for the reader.

The risk is that minimalism can feel cold or generic if there’s no personality. That’s where typography, subtle color choices, and thoughtful spacing make the difference between minimalist and boring.

Some Brands Ignore Design Systems Entirely

This might be my favorite thing I’m seeing: brands that don’t follow any consistent design system.

Pit Viper sends emails that look completely different every time. Different colors, different layouts, no consistent header. Sometimes they look like they were designed in the ’90s. And it works because it’s unexpected and attention-grabbing. You almost want to see what their next email looks like because you have no idea what it’ll be.

Vacation does a slightly more refined version. They have more of a consistent header, but the colors are completely different email to email. You can tell it’s Vacation, but they look quite different. Different background colors, completely different layouts and graphics.

This works for brands with strong personalities and engaged audiences where unpredictability becomes part of the appeal. But it requires confidence and creativity, so it’s definitely not for everyone. You need an audience that’s bought into your vibe.

What This Means

Here’s the thing: the best trends aren’t random visual choices. They’re responses to real needs.

Rounded corners soften the inbox experience. Mobile-first layouts respond to how people actually use their phones. Micro-animations make interactions feel more polished. Minimalist layouts reduce decision fatigue. Breaking the rules responds to inbox sameness. Simpler product photography loads faster and focuses attention.

When you understand the “why” behind a trend, you can decide whether it makes sense for your brand and audience. You’re not just copying what looks cool.

The common thread across most of these? Designers and marketers are getting more confident about making deliberate choices rather than following outdated best practices that haven’t evolved in years.

Whether you’re rounding corners, going mobile-first, embracing minimalism, or breaking all the rules entirely, the key is intentionality. These brands aren’t making random design choices. They’re making decisions based on their audience, their brand identity, and what actually drives engagement.

One Thing to Try This Week

Pick one trend and test it in your next campaign. Not sure which one? Rounded corners or a minimalist layout with a single CTA are good starting points since they’re lower risk with solid potential upside.

Or if you’re feeling bold, try something completely different from your usual template. Sometimes audiences respond really well to the unexpected.

Want to see all of these trends in action? Email Love gives you free access to our full collection of hundreds of thousands of curated emails, trend reports, and expert analysis. You can filter by industry, campaign type, and design element to find exactly what you need.

And if you’re ready to actually implement these trends without fighting your ESP’s clunky builder, the Email Love Figma Plugin lets you design emails with rounded corners, mobile-first layouts, and custom components, then export them as clean code to any platform.

Much love,
Andy

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @emaillove