Email marketing continues to outperform many digital channels on ROI, yet one of its most influential components is still frequently underestimated: design.
As inboxes become more crowded and attention spans shorter, the way an email is structured visually can determine whether it is read or ignored. Marketers may have strong offers and compelling copy, but without clear hierarchy, scannability, and mobile-first design, performance often suffers.
In recent years, this issue has become more visible. The rise of mobile email consumption, increased accessibility expectations, and tighter filtering by mailbox providers have all raised the bar for what constitutes a well-designed email. AI-powered inbox features, including automated summaries and previews, now place additional emphasis on clear structure and hierarchy. Emails that lack visual clarity risk having their core message lost before a reader even opens them.
Design is no longer decorative, it is functional.
It is against this backdrop that the Holistic Email Academy has launched its new course, Foundation: Email Design Excellence.
A Practical Foundation for Better-Performing Emails
Rather than focusing on fleeting design trends, the course concentrates on the underlying principles that consistently drive engagement and conversion.
The programme is designed for marketers who may not come from a design background, but who are responsible for creating or approving email campaigns. It takes a structured, step-by-step approach to showing how design choices influence behaviour, readability, and action.
Key areas covered include:
- Creating visual hierarchy that supports how people scan emails
- Designing layouts that work across devices and inbox environments
- Using drag-and-drop and master templates without sacrificing consistency
- Structuring emails to support opens, clicks, and conversions
- Designing with accessibility and usability in mind
The course is CPD Certified, offering recognised professional development credits, an increasingly important consideration as marketers look to formalise and future-proof their skills.
“Many marketers assume design is something to address once the strategy and copy are finished. In reality, design is what enables those elements to work. When emails are designed with clear hierarchy and purpose, they become easier to read, easier to understand, and far more likely to convert.” Kath Pay, Course Director and Co-Tutor.
Design as a Performance Lever, Not a Cosmetic Layer
One of the recurring challenges in email marketing is the perception that design sits separately from strategy. In practice, the two are closely linked.
Small design decisions, such as spacing, content order, or button prominence, can significantly affect engagement, particularly in an era where inbox algorithms increasingly reward positive user interaction.
According to Dmytro Kudrenko, CEO of email design platform Stripo and co-tutor of the course, effective email design is less about aesthetics and more about clarity.
When design removes friction and guides attention, he explains, emails become easier to read and easier to act on, which is a principle that applies regardless of industry or campaign type.
Industry Expertise at the Core
The course is co-led by Kudrenko alongside Kath Pay, founder of Holistic Email Marketing and the Holistic Email Academy, who has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of email strategy, psychology, and performance.
Both tutors bring practitioner experience rather than purely academic perspectives, drawing on real-world examples of what works — and what does not — in today’s inboxes.
This practical grounding reflects a broader shift in marketing education, where professionals increasingly seek targeted, skills-based learning rather than broad, theory-heavy courses.
Learning Designed for Application
In addition to on-demand modules, learners receive a structured workbook, lifetime access to materials, and a CPD-accredited certificate. The course is designed to be applied immediately, whether learners are working solo, within small teams, or alongside designers and developers.
To mark the launch, the Academy is offering a limited 50 for £50 promotion, allowing the first 50 learners to enrol at a significantly reduced rate.
A Timely Focus on Fundamentals
As email platforms evolve and audience expectations rise, many marketers are reassessing the basics of how their emails are built and presented. In that context, renewed attention to design fundamentals appears less like a step back and more like a strategic reset.
The Foundation: Email Design Excellence course is now open for enrolment via the Holistic Email Academy.
