We’ve recently covered the unbreakable rules in graphic design you should follow when modifying your free email marketing templates and also mentioned those times when these inviolable rules can be broken with impunity. Here are some more of them, together with some instances when it can be useful to ignore them.

With modern software, the ability to modify and ‘enhance’ a typeface used in a banner is almost without limit. It’s a graphic designer’s dream, but unfortunately it can be a temptation too far. We are overwhelmed with the opportunity to meddle. Unless it is done to fit in with your style, if the typeface you’ve chosen needs significant modification, you have chosen poorly. Look for another one.

Along the same lines more or less, emphasis can be overemphasised. If there’s a word you feel is important then choose italic rather than underlining, unless you want to appear crude and brash. Elegant and subtle works in most instances. Further, underlined text in a marketing email can be confused with hotlinks.

Keep columns constantly flush left or right, centred or justified. Don’t mix because they won’t match. There’s an exception. Where there’s an image on the right and you feel flush right shows that the text is specific to that one, and below that an image on the left and flush left helps out similarly there.

That leads on to justified text and narrow columns. Don’t. Just don’t. The contortions required destroy any impact. 

Another quickie is to indulge in no more than two typefaces in the email. One with and one without a serif is enough for differentiation. Any more risks a cacophony.

The requirements of paragraphs in a marketing email are specific. We need to allow the reader to gain the information quickly, almost at a glance. The shorter the paragraph normally the better. One with four sentences should be only allowed on sufferance, but those with five or more – well, they shouldn’t be there.

One last personal complaint. It might not be something that bothers most people when reading a marketing email, but it does me. If something is quoted, a full point should be “outside”.