{"id":3772,"date":"2020-02-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/trending-in-email-design-dark-styles\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T17:01:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T21:01:56","slug":"trending-in-email-design-dark-styles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/trending-in-email-design-dark-styles","title":{"rendered":"Trending in Email Design: Dark Styles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, we see new email design trends<\/a> shaping digital marketing\u2014from the use of color and imagery to typography trends, interactivity, and more. In our <\/span>\u201cTrending in Email Design\u201d<\/span><\/em> series, we look at the hottest digital design trends\u2014and dive into how they translate into email marketing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Dark email designs<\/a> have been gaining momentum over the last year as various email clients and apps have rolled out <\/span>Dark Mode<\/span><\/a> support. Bright designs can create a very jarring experience when viewed in Dark Mode, so designers have started to consider a \u201cDark Mode first\u201d approach, crafting inspirational creative that looks great for all subscribers, no matter which color scheme they set their inboxes to.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, even when your subscribers view your emails in the default bright mode, dark designs can help make your email stand out. With the flood of campaigns that take the traditional approach to email design\u2014dark copy on a bright background\u2014an email design that uses a reverse color scheme will catch your reader\u2019s attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which brands do dark email designs well, you ask? Get inspired by these beautiful examples.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How are brands embracing dark designs?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Marvel<\/span><\/h3>\n

Design platform <\/span>Marvel<\/span><\/a> reaches out to developers in this neatly crafted email to discuss working with their API. Developers often set their machines or their code editors to Dark Mode due to the vast amounts of time spent at their screens reading and writing code. Marvel may have made the decision to make this a dark design when considering their intended audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marvel combines the dark background with custom illustrations in white, featuring highlights in a bright, friendly blue\u2014a stunning combination that stands out in the inbox.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ReMarkable<\/span><\/h3>\n

Black Friday gives designers the opportunity to get creative with dark styles whilst promoting themed offers. <\/span>ReMarkable<\/span><\/a>, who produces a writing and drawing device, uses bold typography and negative space to promote their offer in an easy-to-digest way. The orange CTAs add a touch of color to this otherwise simple design. The result is a stunning email design.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eight Sleep<\/span><\/h3>\n

Eight Sleep<\/span><\/a> promotes temperature control products that aid better sleep. The dark background with highlights in a cool blue creates a peaceful night time scene\u2014perfect for promoting products that keep you cool at night.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Designmodo<\/span><\/h3>\n

You don\u2019t have to work with black and white to utilize dark styles. In fact, using pure white (#FFFFFF) against pure black (#000000) is also known to strain the eye if you are presenting more than a single paragraph of text. Instead, we recommend working with very light and dark gray combinations for a better reading experience. You don\u2019t have to limit yourself to shades of grey, either. <\/span>Designmodo<\/span><\/a> takes advantage of different dark and light tones of blue to craft this beautiful campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Equal Parts<\/span><\/h3>\n

Cookware retailer <\/span>Equal Parts<\/span> have a number of bold colors in their brand palette, which they make pop against the dark backgrounds of their email designs. In this loyalty campaign they use the power of their bold color palette to take the reader on a journey, offering a fun, digestible, and beautiful way to absorb the details of their referral program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The New York Times<\/span><\/h3>\n

When combined with bright, vivid colors, dark designs can be friendly and fun. But when paired with more muted colors, dark styles can set a completely different mood and evoke very different emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n

This campaign from the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/a> is using a dark style to create a gloomy, serious look that\u2019s a perfect fit for their new TV series documenting troubling topics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hulu\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s quite common to see dark styles utilized to promote TV and film, such as this example from <\/span>Hulu<\/span><\/a> for <\/span>The Handmaid’s Tale<\/span><\/em>. This dark and gripping drama just wouldn\u2019t get the same promotional impact if framed within an email sporting a bright background. Instead, the dark design builds interest and atmosphere, beckoning the reader to \u201ccome back and watch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bellroy Premium<\/span><\/h3>\n

Dark colors are often associated with elegance and formality, so brands looking to give their campaigns a premium look and feel may want to consider a dark color palette. Check out this campaign by <\/span>Bellroy<\/span><\/a>, an Australian accessories brand. Bellroy\u2019s design team combines the power of a dark background, beige-golden shades, and a serif font to give this campaign a high-end look that\u2019s perfect for promoting their premium range of accessories.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Loupe<\/span><\/h3>\n

Design conference <\/span>Loupe<\/span><\/a> created a simple but impactful campaign to announce that tickets have gone on sale. The use of a single bold color, negative space, and full width development make this one of my favorite dark email designs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Source: Really Good Emails<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s your favorite dark style email?<\/span><\/h2>\n

We\u2019d love to see your favorite examples of brands utilizing dark styles in your emails. And for more on coding emails for Dark Mode<\/a>, check out our comprehensive Ultimate Guide to Dark Mode<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dark email designs have been gaining momentum over the last year as various email clients and apps have rolled out Dark Mode support. Bright designs can create a very jarring experience when viewed in Dark Mode, so designers have started to consider a \u201cDark Mode first\u201d approach, crafting inspirational creative that looks great for all subscribers, no matter which color scheme they set their inboxes to.<\/p>\n

Which brands do dark email designs well, you ask? Get inspired by these beautiful examples.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[809,478,1173],"blog_category":[78,53],"class_list":["post-3772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dark-mode","tag-design","tag-email-marketing-trends","blog_category-inspiration","blog_category-tips-resources"],"yoast_head":"\nTrending in Email Design: Dark Styles - Litmus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the latest email design trend - dark styles. See dark mode email examples and learn how popular brands are utilizing this trend in their email marketing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/trending-in-email-design-dark-styles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trending in Email Design: Dark Styles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the latest email design trend - dark styles. 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