Design Workflow Blog

Featured posts

Highlights of thoughts on web and email content production.

Abstract illustration of a ticking bomb in the middle of dependencies.

The website complexity trap

The technical debt of depending on frameworks and tooling for HTML and CSS.

Examples of different landing page designs.

The landing page approach

Even if you don't advertise, the landing page format is useful for more focused messaging and goals for your website's pages.

An example of an email, and its landing page.

Emails with landing pages

The most effective way to gain audience interest, and conversions.

A collage of different kinds of marketing emails.

54 marketing emails to send out

Have all your bases covered by referring to this list of email types, with usage summaries and design examples.

A list of 12 reminders to help with reviewing email content: Alt text on images, links, tracking parameters, links on images, preview text, mobile, placeholder content, voice and tone, make scannable, review images, titles and buttons, call to action.

Why you should have an email content checklist

And 12 essential items you should include on your checklist.

Screenshot of heavily nested code.

How visual email builders reinforce bad design practices

They primarily use outdated design practices that cause unintended issues and wasted effort.

A team collaborating on design workflows with floating overlays of abstract design concepts.

Organizing your email design process

3 steps towards systemizing your email’s production.

An example of modular design sections, each labeled and with code variable names.

What is modular design?

A framework for more clearly defining the language around your design system and templating techniques.

Three X's over complicated formatting options.

Why visual email builders are bad at email design

They have more options than you need, yet still have design and workflow limitations.

Abstract illustration of metrics for links.

Tracking links in email

The most important of email metrics, maybe the only thing you need.

A view of someone changing the dark mode settings on their mobile phone.

Turning to the dark mode

Should you make your email design dark mode compatible?

Abstract illustration of accessibility aspects for sight and hearing.

Making accessibility a habit

Accessibility in email design doesn’t have to be an arduous task.

Abstract illustration showing two people holding a molecular structure with website-related icons on each molecule.

An email design system for your thoughts

Using a design system helps you better analyze your emails, streamline production, and iterate on strategy for your campaigns.

Abstract illustration of distributed teams.

The benefits of distributed teams for marketing creatives

A centralized or decentralized marketing structure? How about both!

Photo of a hand holding a light bulb.

Clarity in messaging

How to stay on brand, hone your content craft, and make your writing memorable.

Various wodden blocks being stacked on top of each other by someone's hand, forming stairs going up.

The fundamentals of email content production

Like email being around for a long-time to come, so will these fundamentals.

An illustration of an assets icon in the middle with back and forth arrows to platform icons and settings.

Why asset portability matters

Managing email assets independently, so you have control over them beyond the tools and platforms you use.

Screenshots of three example visual editors.

The differences in email editors

Three types of visual email editors: simplified with template options, complex builders, and using your own custom template.

An overhead shot of three team members working together on their devices with icons representing their tools laid out on the table in front of them.

Using a specialized workflow to do better work

Working together on a team based on maximizing the most valuable aspects of your skillset while allowing other team members to maximize what they’re good at.

Mobile view of an email with modular components around it.

Responsive emails: modularize to mobilize

At least half of email opens now happen on mobile. So there’s no longer an excuse to not enhance your emails for mobile!

An illustration of the word 'brand' surrounded by icons and words that refer to aspects involved in branding a product or service.

The use of brand in email

Branding and design aesthetics can sound like a fuzzy proposition, but understanding their underlying principles can lead to strategic results.

An illustration of an email design surrounded by color codes, photos, and photo avatars of team members.

Efficiency and quality are both possible with some design thinking

Design thinking is essentially both creative and analytical thinking working together holistically.

An illustration showing the entrance and exit of portals in a room with a gap in the floor.

Now you're thinking with blocks (how to look at things modularly)

I'm going to guide you through using the power of thinking about email templates modularly, or in 'blocks'.

A black and white photo of an editorial magazine office desk, with a computer monitor, keyboard, and photo camera.

The ideal way to edit content in your email template

It ultimately allows you to put together content in a way that feels more natural and come out with the best quality email each time.

A black and white photo of empty war trenches.

Three ways to spend less time in the email production trenches

It may be time to revaluate your production process and spend less time in the trenches.