Campaign Monitor Gallery

The Briny

Stig Morten Myre — 2012-02-09T00:24:47+00:00

This great looking Christmas letter from Ondine Restaurant chef Roy Brett by designers Atalanta is laid out across a 3 column grid in a most elegant manner. The simple and readable type is complemented by tasteful borders and flourishes, and the corn-colored quote really enlivens an otherwise restrained palette. All up, this is a timeless design that would look just as elegant as a printed letter or flyer, but in many ways has been specifically designed for the inbox.

Soapbox PR

Stig Morten Myre — 2012-02-06T04:49:37+00:00

Psst… It ‘wood’ be nice if all company newsletters were as lovely as Soapbox PR‘s!

Ok, so we’re being a bit cheesy here, but that’s not to say that there isn’t a lot to appreciate in this unique design by The Frontier Group. The red elements like the Soapbox logo, headings and social sharing buttons are positioned in a zig-zag pattern as you move down the one-column design, creating a harmonious visual flow. The copy in each section is brief, so there isn’t a sense of overload as you progress. It’s all very digestible, really.

When that wood-panel background image doesn’t display, there’s a fallback background color that looks just fine in the inbox. Our only suggestions would be that they should have taken advantage of the opportunity to link back to their site, if only to remind readers as to whom the newsletter is from (it’s unusual that they don’t). Secondly, it’s wise to avoid adding URLs as text to their design.

Otherwise, this is an easy-to-read, informational campaign that balances text and images and definitely reflects well on the Soapbox PR brand. Nice work!

iart interactive ag

Carissa Phillips — 2012-01-31T23:51:04+00:00

Here's a slick email from a creative multimedia collective, called iart interactive ag. Don't miss out on the animated gif they've added - click the thumbnail to view the header image. It's a great teaser for the matching video on their site, too.

I love it when we get to highlight campaigns in languages other than English, because it shows that you can make an email look really good when using umlauts and other unique characters.

The campaign is a one column layout but looks more like a two column layout because of the side-by-side images in each section. Nice way to break up a lot of text!

Orange

Stig Morten Myre — 2012-01-24T07:09:20+00:00

Here's the thing... Orange is not only a gleefully energetic color, but also the name of this beautifully crafted newsletter by creative firm Hambly & Woolley. We particularly like that the header consists mostly of actual text, where others might have resorted to a large image for the header content. All around, this is a fun little newsletter with a shifting layout, featuring a stark reminder as to what happens when The Thing drinks too much Fanta!

Carbonmade

Carissa Phillips — 2012-01-20T03:48:35+00:00

Carbonmade, the awesomest portfolio site, now has their own designer and an illustrator - together, they created this beautiful email campaign. It sure is image-heavy (which we usually discourage), but still features the main message as text. Nonetheless, with a fan club of designers and illustrators, this email isn't likely to be missed. I'd just recommend moving the 'View it in your browser' to the top, since it's currently hiding below the fold and not of much use there.

They've also devised a new strategy to keep a faithful audience, that is, complimenting designers on how good they smell!

Postbox

Davida Fernandez — 2012-01-11T01:15:34+00:00

Here’s a great example of what can be done if you use an email template as a starting point for your own campaigns. The folks at Postbox transformed our ‘Sample Template’ into this impossibly-clean design; a gorgeous marketing piece that also reinforces their own website branding.

It’s great to see that the same attention to detail that has been put into their app has also been extended to their email updates. All ‘round, a great email to receive in any email client, from a top notch email client at that.

MyFan

Mathew Patterson — 2012-01-05T03:56:58+00:00

This fresh and friendly design by the multi-talented team at MyFan feels a lot more personal than the typical corporate newsletter. The illustrated arrows and casual font work well and because the campaign is using actual text it still works if the images don't load.

We also appreciate the clear reminder about the new company name, something that can lead to complaints and confusion if not handled well. Read our blog post for more advice on how to handle name changes too.

alsoKNOWNas

Greg Strutton — 2012-01-02T21:56:24+00:00

Elusive and minimalist can be used to describe this template from ALSOKNOWNAS. Using a simple monochromatic colour palette (primarily shades of grey and black), it sparingly uses color to boldly highlight parts of the newsletter against its concrete-grey background color. The use of crisp monospace fonts gives it an industrial look, which thankfully isn't difficult to read on both regular monitors and mobile devices.

Overall, this is a really simple and effective template, with attitude that's as solid as the one-column template itself. You can't help but wonder about the seemingly-intential typo in the header - but perhaps that's what they were hoping for.

Naughty Fish

Stephen Jesson — 2011-12-21T05:35:47+00:00

Part of the reason this stylish, minimalist newsletter from design agency Naughty Fish looks so good is because of the impressive images they’ve added into their campaign. Paired with a deceptively simple layout, this newsletter does a great job at showcasing their amazing work, while not slipping into the territory of being an ‘image heavy’ campaign.

I must admit, I’m also a sucker for typography and the subtle use of colour, and this is another thing Naughty Fish do well here; Georgia is the perfect font for this ‘magazine’ styled design, and I love the way they’ve highlighted their table of contents in the left-hand column using a cool blue, then have highlighted their subscriber links and contact details just below this using a dusky orange.

All-in-all an impressive and pixel perfect campaign which I suspect would look just as good in Outlook 2007 as it would in Apple Mail.

Different Projects

Davida Fernandez — 2011-12-19T05:22:56+00:00

This is one of those emails where the first thing I thought was “I wish I’d designed that.” I’m a big fan of bringing the opening paragraph right up to the top along with the branding. It’s clear who the email is from, but Different Projects displays some humility and immediately delivers what’s important to the recipients.

My favorite part? Look at the fun way the text boxes overlap and interact with the images, all accomplished with clever, email-friendly tables. Lots of white space, clean, consistently branded with their website, all around a fine fine job.

Statusboard

Greg Strutton — 2011-12-13T22:15:29+00:00

Whilst this campaign for Statusboard by Supersteil is image heavy, it's still a pretty effective campaign. The most important detail, being the date and time of an upcoming maintenance period, are still set out in text, so any email clients with the images disabled will still display this important information. I really like the idea of the letter within the envelope, it's really clever thinking - click on the preview above to see it in all its glory.

A couple of points that I would recommend:

The text in the footer should really be a lighter colour to have more contrast with the background colour. Which includes the important unsubscribe link!
The white background colour of the main text area doesn't quite match the images above and below it. Adding a background colour that is a close match or a background image would have just completed this.

That said, it's still a great looking and fun template for such an announcement.

Atlas Travel

Jarrod Taylor — 2011-12-06T22:13:17+00:00

Perfect for those ready to set out to explore the world, we’re sure that the nomad newsletter by Atlas Travel is a most welcome addition to its subscribers’ inboxes.

I quite liked the header area, not too crowded and just the right amount of information for readers to become familiar with the sender without needing to scroll down. Another aspect that gets the nod is the distinct division of articles. Simple but effective, the warm grey blocks assist the photographs in really standing out.

Lastly, the alternative sections such as the giveaway and start packing areas are pleasant to look at, with their textured feel, however for the giveaway, text would have made for a better reading experience instead of an image that won’t always load by default. Overall, a great design by the team at Rocketspark.

Chef Anahita

Stig Morten Myre — 2011-12-04T22:04:52+00:00

Combine bold and simple typography, with a monochromatic color scheme in just the right hue of red mauve, and you have this cracker of an email. Designer Justin Veiga has put a lot of personality into this email for Chef Anahita, while delivering a newsletter that's sure to stand out (and display nicely) in any inbox. In fact, you could turn off all images and not miss the message (or Chef Anahita's tasty lunchtime treats). To avoid being mistaken for a phisher we'd just recommend labeling that Facebook Page link with something other than the URL. But apart from that, this is really an email that ticks all the boxes for a successful design.

Harvest ‘n’ Graze Festival

Stig Morten Myre — 2011-11-28T00:57:49+00:00

With its chirpy illustrations, and presentations of select delectable stallholders, this newsletter by Tonto Digital makes me feel like I’m already at the Harvest ‘n’ Graze Festival.

The essential ticket details are given a prominent placement at the top of the sidebar, but for subscribers opening the email without images enabled, we’d love to see a text link to online booking too.

We Love Perth

Carissa Phillips — 2011-11-23T07:01:06+00:00

Perth residents should appreciate this pretty email with links to fun sites all over their lovable city. There's no 'be there or be square' snobbery here, just a casual crafty feel to this 2-column layout. People always on-the-go who don't have time to read their email will be thankful that it isn't text heavy; scanning is easy because it highlights things to do and see with short phrases and bold links.

Design Fuller created the design, while Spoon5 helped to bring it to life in HTML. I wish they'd make one for my city too!

Royal Mail Hotel

Stig Morten Myre — 2011-11-20T23:26:36+00:00

You could say lots about the sheer beauty of this email for Royal Mail Hotel by SASI Marketing Group. But what I really like about it, is how each of the swell looking heading images is accompanied by a text based subheading, in case of blockage.

The subscriber offer teaser in the header is smart too, with an anchor link to full details further down the email.

MedHatMovember

Jarrod Taylor — 2011-11-15T23:26:27+00:00

Where did the year go? Movember (the month formally known as November) is upon us again, which means it’s time for top lips to say "No" to razors in the name of supporting men’s health. This fantastic email is certainly an eye catcher and was designed by Canadian Movember advocates, FlyByWire.

The limited colors make the overall appearance impressively sharp and handsomely masculine with a design that degrades well in cases where background images are not supported, or images not loaded at all.

Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand

Jarrod Taylor — 2011-11-10T06:34:57+00:00

We spotted this email for Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand and instantly fell in love with the simplistic nature of the lightweight design. It’s mostly text, aside from the subtle images throughout the body and background that compliment the easy-reading nature of the invitation. A suggestion would be to add alt text for the header image, incase it doesn’t load, but aside from that, a simplistic, effective design.

Editor’s note: This email also represents a gentler time. After New Zealand’s triumph over France during the recent Rugby World Cup, I don’t expect the French will have our neighbours over for dinner any time soon!

City Farmers

Diana Potter — 2011-11-08T05:12:42+00:00

I admit it, I’m a sucker for companies that care about feedback. Here at Campaign Monitor, our customer’s opinions matter and I always stop and take notice when I see the same attitude from other companies, it says something about them. It doesn’t hurt when it comes in a nicely designed package either!

The design for City Farmers by the Perth-based crew at Generator is subtle without images, but really holds together which is the important thing. I would have preferred that the click here link be text, though, so that nothing is lost in those image off situations.

One thing that isn’t visible in the gallery view is the clever use of personalization. It isn’t just the typical use of a name (though that’s there), but they’re also reminding them of the specific store they shopped at and on what day. It reminds the subscribers and will help to get the best feedback possible.

Morph

Carissa Phillips — 2011-11-04T00:23:53+00:00

'Fanciful' comes to mind when I see this campaign. Who knew putting big red lips on a suit-wearing buffalo could make a campaign so fun?!

Seriously, though, this design isn't just cute, it's smart too. The team at Morph went to lengths to use text wherever possible (which we can't encourage enough) and the content is exceptionally well organized. Eye-pleasing colors are used to highlight the main sections and the 'click here' links stand out, while not distracting from flow of reading.

Three cheers for a campaign that's not only visually delightful, but fills you with an eagerness to read it!