• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 4, 2019

Email design is evolving along with email technology, judging by Top Email Design Trends Of 2019, an infographic by EmailMonks. Here’s what to expect this year:

1.APNG In Email
APNG, an extension of the Portable Network Graphic format, helps brands provide animated images. APNG images support 24-bit colors and 8-bit alpha transparency, vs. 8 bits per pixel in GIF, with no transparency.

2. Intelligent Design 
This allows subscribers to take action within the inbox. For example, they can fill out surveys without going to a landing page. The study adds that interactivity and kinetic designs will move beyond hover and click, leading to more informative emails. Intelligent design can also facilitate gamification emails.

3. Defamiliarizing your email personality
Instead of relying on the usual email layout — i.e., header image, concise copy and CTA — brands may try an asymmetrical layout with broken grids, as they would in a website design. For instance, they might place the CTA in an unconventional place. The objective is to add surprise elements that will keep the consumer interested. 

4. AMP In Emails
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. It allows the user to stay in the email instead of being driven to a web browser. Gmail announced support for AMP last year. It requires more work, but a brand’s emails will be fresh and will have accurate content when opened. 

5. Advancements In Visuals
We have entered the era of 3D images in emails. Photorealistic graphics help brands advance their storytelling, while converting shoppers. Brands can use tools like Adobe Dimension CC to create impactful pictures. In addition, expect to see monochrome emails and gradient-based design.

6. Live Social Media Feeds In Emails
The time has come for live Twitter and Instagram feeds in emails. The latest tweet will pop up when the subscriber opens the email. This will lead to better integration of email marketing and social media, while enhancing brand viability.

7. Typography and Fonts
Ecommerce leaders are using typography to highlight important offers. This creates a wow factor that grabs the subscriber’s attention, EmailMonks says.

8. Video In Emails
Videos can improve email open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 50%. The reason: They help communicate the message. This could be especially promising for event marketers and service-based businesses. 

Here’s one caveat: Email clients need to evolve. GIFs are still not supported in Outlook, and fixed CTA does not work on Apple devices.