What were the problems?

Some of the emails were not designed using mobile-first sensibilities even though 80% of users were on a phone. Some of their emails had not been optimized for all platforms and devices. The previous designs appeared too spammy and had a low clickthrough rate. Landing pages were required for special promotions throughout the year.

  • What kind of email newsletters will please the user?
  • How do we let our users pick and choose the content they want to receive?

Bauer Xcel Media

  • My role - Design, UX
  • Tools - Photoshop, Illustrator, Coda
  • Platforms - Sailthru

What was the approach?

Templating

I created a simplified HTML template that could be easily updated by the marketing team. This template could be used for different campaigns or newsletter lists at their discretion and didn't require allocating dev or design resources for updates.

Designs optimized for all platforms and devices

Every email needed to be tested for all devices, platforms, email clients and browsers.

Tools: Email on Acid, Litmus, Browserstack

Special Events

The marketing team would run special events that required landing pages and accompanying newsletters. These were optimized for all devices and platforms.

What were the learnings or compromises?

  • Start with a solid template! Modify it as needed, but keep it clean.
  • Landing page design is more than just a webpage. They have a single purpose and must be designed to achieve that aim.