Gallery: Three column

This eye-capturing email campaign, designed by Matt Hackett, packs a lot of content well into a small area but remains uncrowded and easy to read. A peek at David Bostock’s stunning wedding photography portfolio is accompanied by testimonials, contact information, links and more.

The distinct separation of foreground and background colors is emphasized so simply by the subtle shadows around the top and bottom corners, assisting the photographs to leap from the screen to the viewer’s attention.

We particularly like the detailed permission reminder, which leaves no doubt in the reader’s mind as to why they’re receiving the email. Overall, this is a thoughtfully-designed email and a credit to Matt Hackett’s familiarity with the medium.

The Ghostly Store sells a variety of cool stuff like music, art and clothing - and we thought this campaign by Daniel Hunninghake looked pretty cool too!

The overall appearance is a very neat, lightweight design. The right balance of text and the variety of ways the products have been laid out make the email an interesting browse. Also achieving this balance are the call to action links, which are subtle, yet striking. The purple text mimics Ghostly’s logo and the light gray background and fine shadow give the links a tactile “button-like” feel.

We always like mobile-friendly layouts and this is one of them. For example, the links here have been set apart from the text (and each other), reducing the risk of accidentally tapping things that by accident.

An appealing newspaper-style approach to Distracted's quirky store newsletter today. It certainly stands out from the typical corporate publication with a distinctly vintage look, but despite an emphasis on ornamentation, it remains readable.

A lot of copy is included - it's almost like a newspaper that's been loosely adapted for email - but we figure that people familiar with their unique style will know and love this. Our only concern is how the long columns of text will hold up on mobile devices, as well as when readers move from article, to the next.

Overall, it's a distinctive design from the ever-talented Studio Bomba team!

This past holiday season gave us plenty of creative and fun campaigns, but this one from Cravatta Pelliano premiered quite strongly. Like the very unique piece of attire its presenting, this campaigns strives to stand out from the crowd with its dashing design elements and layout.

Check out the playful, faux knitting for the header, the blue background that surrounds the content like a tailored jacket, or the detailed images pleasantly placed among the content areas. How about that very fitting and memorable, unsubscribe message at the top? All of these pieces work together in a gestalt fashion, or as as a Cravatta Pelliano might put it, the pieces complete the “whole ensemble”.

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.

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.

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.

This campaign by Joseph Szala at Vigor just goes to show that they’re definitely in-‘vigor’-ated by nature, as well as by name. Just like the noun their company is named after, this campaign is full of energy, enthusiasm and intensity.

For ‘starters’ (they’re a restaurant branding consultancy - see what I did there?) I love their use of bold, vibrant images and social media icons, which really stand out against the subtle grey background. They’ve also managed to infuse lots of personality: the ‘Wanna see the pretty pictures?’ web version link and cheeky permission reminder at the base of the campaign are specific, yet playful. It all goes to show that you can still have a little fun with your links, while maintaining all-important functionality.

While their use of contrasting images should be admired, their inclusion of actual styled text within the campaign is just as impressive. Rather than be lazy and incorporate their masthead and volume / issue numbers into a single banner image, they’ve taken the time to slice and code them up inside a dedicated table, ensuring that the text you can see remains as actual, highlightable, readable text, rather than as part of an image or alt text. This certainly helps to keep image sizes down while maintaining readability.

This elegant campaign by Studio Round (and developed by Efront), is an odd mix of simplicity and complexity that almost boggles my mind in its contrast. I absolutely love the clean look of a solid background color and clean straight margins. The use of only a few different font sizes does a great job of drawing the eye to what’s important and reducing any clutter in the design. Best of all, in my opinion, is the use of a 3 column, magazine-like layout - it adds that extra touch of sophistication, taking the email from what could have been something quite plain and making it something a bit more special.