{"id":25947,"date":"2021-04-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?p=25947"},"modified":"2025-12-08T09:26:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T14:26:26","slug":"2010s-to-now-email-design-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/2010s-to-now-email-design-trends","title":{"rendered":"2010s to now: Email design trends that survived the test of time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
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Email has come a long way. Founded by Ray Tomlinson in 1971<\/a>, what started as a way to communicate with colleagues who wouldn\u2019t answer their phones evolved into a powerhouse. The email marketing channel continues to bring staggeringly high returns, with an ROI of 36:1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This October, email officially turns 50. We can\u2019t help but feel a bit nostalgic. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve decided to take a look back at email\u2019s history, from the 2010s to now.<\/p>\n

We asked email experts Lily Worth<\/a>, our email design and production specialist, and Brian Thies, email developer and owner of Thies Publishing<\/a>, to dig into the archives and share some insight about their experience through the years, specifically with coding and design.<\/p>\n

Take a walk with us down memory lane as we revisit email design trends that survived the 2010s. In this post, we\u2019ll look at some of the most iconic design trends and how they evolved for the better.<\/p>\n

Email grows up in the 2010s<\/h2>\n

The 1990s to 2000s was a renaissance period for email design. Around 1991, the internet\u2014as we know it now\u2014was born. Then in the late 1990s, email experienced a rebirth with the introduction of HTML to email<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What about the 2010s? Despite being \u201cthe most sort-of<\/a>\u201d decade of all time, major advancements did take place with email marketing.<\/p>\n

During this decade, a lot of things took off: segmentation, personalization, email automation, compliance (like GDPR), accessibility, and much more. This set the stage for email marketing as we know it today.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a brief history of email marketing milestones over the past decade:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 2009<\/a> – Responsive emails<\/a> are introduced.<\/li>\n
  • 2010<\/a> – Triggered emails<\/a> become the norm, with 48% of marketers now sending triggered emails.<\/li>\n
  • 2012<\/a> – 90 million Americans now use email on a mobile device.<\/li>\n
  • 2013<\/a> – Google introduces tabs within Gmail<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  • 2014<\/a> – The integration of CSS with HTML brought in the era of interactive emails<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  • 2014<\/a> – Dynamic content<\/a> is used to create personalized experiences with subscribers.<\/li>\n
  • 2014 – Canada\u2019s anti-spam legislation (CASL<\/a>) comes into effect.<\/li>\n
  • 2015<\/a> – CSS animation<\/a> within email gains popularity.<\/li>\n
  • 2016<\/a> – Personalization takes over.<\/li>\n
  • 2016<\/a> – GDPR<\/a> is adopted.<\/li>\n
  • 2018<\/a> – Apple introduces Dark Mode<\/a> as part of their 15th OS release.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    What about coding and design?<\/p>\n

    Email design trends that defined the 2010s<\/h2>\n

    To jog our memories, we asked Lily to dig into the archives and share the earliest email she could find. Let\u2019s take a look at the first email she designed and developed for Experian in 2009:<\/p>\n

    \"Lily
    Source: Lily Worth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Her thoughts after revisiting this email? \u201cLots of image slicing, tiny fonts, and no responsive code.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s another one of Lily\u2019s first emails, from a different project at Experian:<\/p>\n

    \"Lily
    Source: Lily Worth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    What does Lily recall from this one? \u201cThe buttons and lengthy preheader text. It’s good to see that back then, we were using live text the majority of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

    To take things a bit further, we asked our community on Twitter to share the first email campaign they ever sent<\/a> (thanks #EmailGeeks!). Let\u2019s look at some of the key characteristics that defined emails of this decade.<\/p>\n

    Garish buttons<\/h3>\n

    Before bulletproof buttons<\/a>, there were buttons of all kinds. Common treatments were glossy<\/b>, and the good ol\u2019 bevel and emboss<\/b>.<\/p>\n

    First, let\u2019s take a look at some examples of glossy buttons.<\/p>\n

    \"glossy-button\"
    Source: Adpearance<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Here is an example in email, dating back to 2014:<\/p>\n

    \"Sky
    Source: Email Design Review | ActionRocket<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    And look at this bevel and emboss effect. Irresistible, don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n

    \"bevel-style\"
    Source: Adpearance<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Although more heavily a characteristic of the ’90s, we saw a combination of glossy mixed with the bevel and emboss technique in our early emails, shown by one of Megan Boshuyzen<\/a>\u2019s first emails she designed in 2008.<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/twitter.com\/megbosh\/status\/1369690759461486603<\/p>\n

    Drop shadows<\/h3>\n

    It seems we were big fans of adding depth to our emails in any way possible back then. In addition to the button styles listed above? Drop shadows.<\/p>\n

    Check out this email from 2010. The \u201cfloating\u201d Starbucks card and gift card were made possible by drop shadows.<\/p>\n

    \"Sage
    Source: Mark Orr<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Navigation bars<\/h3>\n

    Email design tends to closely follow the footsteps of web design. A lot of what was popular on the web would shortly find its way to email.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s an example of a navigation bar in one Paul Airy<\/a>\u2019s first email campaigns:<\/p>\n

    \n

    One of the first email campaigns I designed and developed. pic.twitter.com\/euS5FcafnV<\/a><\/p>\n

    — Beyond the Envelope\u2122 (@Paul_Airy) March 10, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n