Recently I read a nice article from Really Good Emails (if you’re not already following them, you should). The article focuses on some key concepts to keep in mind when designing your email layout. Many of these concepts hit home for me, as they’re concepts that I preach often to my team. White space, hierarchy, organization of content, font choices, compelling imagery, and clear calls-to-action, are all vital to the success of an email design.

Take white space, for example. I wish I had $10 for every email I see with poor use of white space. I wouldn’t be retiring, but the lunch bill would be taken care of for the foreseeable future.

More often than not, the reasons for getting rid of white space are because of this devious little creature called “the fold" (or, if you ask Litmus, "the scroll") and the ever-present power it has to make marketers want to cram as much content above it as possible. This often results in an email that’s confusing and difficult to read. White space opens up the layout and makes the content easier to digest. If the fold is your primary concern, that can be alleviated by the other concepts like hierarchy and organization of content. Always remember, a good email design should draw your eyes down through the layout.

Check out the positive impact white space can have in the visual below.

For more on these concepts, check out the article here.

Design well, my friends.