Email Design
The best email design isn't guesswork. It's patterns, and we've got receipts. Great email design is what makes someone stop scrolling, actually read, and click. We have collected 444,000+ real emails from the brands doing it best, from Patagonia and SKIMS to Starbucks and Nike and thousands more, so you can see exactly what good looks like, understand why it works, and build your own without starting from a blank canvas.
Email design examples worth stealing
Every email here is real, pulled from live campaigns, not mockups. Browse by the kind of email you are designing, then open any one to see it full size.
What makes great email design
After looking at hundreds of thousands of emails, the same handful of things separate the ones that convert from the ones that get deleted. Here is what the best brands get right, with a real example of each.
A clear visual hierarchy.
The eye should land on one thing first, usually the offer or the story, then flow naturally to the CTA. The best emails use size, spacing, and contrast to make that path obvious in half a second.
Layout that survives the inbox.
A design that looks perfect in Figma can fall apart in Outlook. Great email design respects the grid, keeps structure simple, and never bets the message on a fragile layout.
Mobile-first, always.
Most people open on a phone, so the best emails are built to be thumb-friendly first: single columns, big tap targets, text you can read without pinching. Design for the small screen and the desktop takes care of itself.
Dark mode that does not break.
Half your list reads in dark mode, and a design that ignores it ships broken: invisible logos, muddy images, unreadable text. The brands that nail it plan for both themes from the start.
Motion with a purpose.
A well-placed GIF can show a product, demo a feature, or add just enough delight, all without tanking load time. The trick is using motion to communicate, not decorate.
Details that finish the job.
Footers, preview text, alt text, accessible color contrast: the unglamorous stuff is where good design becomes great. It is also where most emails quietly fall short.
The top email design resources
The galleries, tools, and references worth bookmarking. Start with our own gallery and guides, then explore the best of what the email community has built.
Email design FAQ
Design it in Figma. Ship clean HTML.
Turn any design into clean, responsive, production-ready HTML and export straight to your ESP, no dev handoff required.
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