Distinctive Quality

Template technique: levels of email dark mode

How to prepare your template for email clients and their dark mode affects.

Published 5/24/2023 on Blocks Edit

Template technique: automatic mobile layout

Simple code for globally adjusting any column in an email template for mobile.

Published 5/17/2023 on Blocks Edit

Letting go of Outlook for Windows

No more tables, no more VML, no more Outlook’s dirty code!

Published 4/11/2023 on Blocks Edit

Hex colors aren’t great at anything except being popular

Linked 2/1/2023

How code is handled (badly) by email providers

Ways that email providers mess with your code and what to do about it.

Published 1/18/2023 on Blocks Edit

Designing for a branded email's text only version

How to account for your email design's text-only output.

Published 1/10/2023 on Blocks Edit

No more tables for email

An approach to eliminating the need for using tables for design structure.

Published 11/17/2022 on Blocks Edit

Modular design technique: the 3 phases of template design

The design phases towards turning your email design into a design system: structure, branding, modules.

Published 10/26/2022 on Blocks Edit

Modular design technique: using standard layouts

What do these emails have in common? They all use the same essential layout, each with completely different branded designs.

Published 10/18/2022 on Blocks Edit

Making your emails shareable

Adding share links and utilizing meta info.

Published 9/22/2022 on Blocks Edit

Start sending out emails

I used to tell people that if they have anything that they want to share with the world, the first thing they do is should get a website up.

Posted 8/28/2022

Is the internet the only place we can truly be ourselves?

Linked 8/22/2022

Starter modular email boilerplate

The framework we use for coding custom email templates that are accessible and lightweight, available as open source.

Published 8/4/2022 on Blocks Edit

How visual email builders reinforce bad design practices

They primarily use outdated design practices that cause unintended issues and wasted effort.

Published 7/20/2022 on Blocks Edit

Dealing with Outlook

Email clients have improved email rendering throughout the years. Except for Microsoft Outlook. Here’s how to support it and keep your sanity.

Published 6/23/2022 on Blocks Edit

Modular design technique: components that work together

How DICK’S Sporting Goods designed their components to be reusable and plug into and along side each other.

Published 5/3/2022 on Blocks Edit

Organizing your email design process

3 steps towards systemizing your email’s production.

Published 4/14/2022 on Blocks Edit

Modular design technique: Layout styles to break up content

AAA’s newsletter allows for glanceable reading by using a wide range of content layout options.

Published 3/31/2022 on Blocks Edit

Modular design technique: creative collage layouts

How Funimation uses collage-based visuals to promote their wide range of shows and products.

Published 3/8/2022 on Blocks Edit

Modular design technique: utilizing color for tone

How Headspace uses different color palettes for their email content while keeping layout and formatting consistent.

Published 2/3/2022 on Blocks Edit

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