Case study · Email design

One email look for every Synovus campaign

Synovus had a long list of email campaigns. I designed the one look that tied them together, then turned it into a look book, reusable modules and the rules for using them.

Client
Synovus Bank
Agency
Brightwave
My role
Interactive DesignerI owned the design.
Channel
Email
Tools
Sketch, InDesign, Photoshop
The problem

Many campaigns, each briefed on its own. Without one look, every email would feel like a different bank.

What I did

Designed the evergreen email look, set the photo, icon and layout style, and built it into reusable modules.

What it became

A 28 page look book, an email template kit and an Email Channel Playbook.

01 · The ask

Many campaigns. No one look to hold them.

Synovus gave us the campaigns they needed to run. My job was to find one evergreen look that works for all of them and still reads well on a phone.

The brief, in numbers
7kinds of campaign in the brief
1evergreen look to hold all of them
28pages in the look book that came out of it

The seven: card activation, account activation, retention, newsletters, product launches, a new ATM and a branch opening.

The team
  • StrategistPlanned the campaigns and the audience for each one.
  • CopywriterWrote the headlines, subject lines and body copy.
  • DeveloperCoded the emails in HTML.
  • Me · DesignThe look, photo and icon style, modules and the look book.
02 · Process

From a list of campaigns to one system

Four steps. Click any picture to see it full size.

01

Start from the brand

I kept what works in an inbox from the brand book: the red, the Stag headline font, real people in real places, and a warm voice.

02

Explore the evergreen look

Always-on emails came first: activation, retention and newsletters. They run all year, so they set the look for everything else.

03

Break it into modules

Header, hero, content blocks, carousel and footer. Every campaign is built from the same parts, so a new email starts from a proven base.

04

Write down the rules

Type sizes, widths, photo rules, buttons and module combos went into the Email Channel Playbook, so the next designer gets the same result.

03 · The look book

The whole program, in one place

The look book went to Synovus. It groups every email program into Evergreen, Launched and Upcoming, plus a page of new concepts, so the client could see one bank and one look across all of it.

Always-on emails. This is where I set the look: a centered logo, a photo hero with a headline band, clear red buttons, and a friendly help block before the footer.

Credit Card Activation
eChannel Retention Series
Account Activation Series
Private Wealth Newsletters
04 · Concepts

Four ideas, and the thinking behind each one

These are the concepts I designed to push the system past "photo, headline, button." Click one to see the idea, how it works, and how it changed between rounds.

05 · The system

Built to be reused, not redrawn

The same modules make every email. Swap the photo, the order and the copy, and the email still looks like Synovus.

The template kit · four emails built from the same parts · placeholder text on purpose
The source file

One design file behind every email

At the agency, the kit lived in one Sketch file. The other designers on the team built new emails from it. Here it is in Figma, page by page. Click a page to look inside.

Design SystemColor, type, layout, buttons and icons, taken from the real layers.
TemplateEvery module by tier: nav, primary, secondary, tertiary, footer.
SymbolsThe master parts. Each email uses copies of these.
CompsFinished emails, put together from the same parts.
  • 1Built from partsEvery module is a symbol with a plain name, like Desktop / Secondary / B_Descriptive callout. Anyone on the team can find the part they need.
  • 2Fixed in one placeChange a button or a footer once, in its master symbol. Every email that uses it gets the change.
  • 3Easy to copyStack a nav, a primary module, the secondary modules you need and a footer. Swap the photo and the copy. A new email, and it still looks like Synovus.
The parts

Five modules to pick from

Every email has a header, a primary module and a footer. These five secondary modules add supporting content.

  • A
    Featured iconThree icons, three short labels, one button.
  • B
    Descriptive calloutAn icon beside each point, with a line of copy.
  • C
    Interactive carouselTap through icons, one message at a time.
  • D
    S shaped demoPhone screens zigzag down the email, one feature each.
  • E
    Single focus demoOne phone screen, one feature.
The rules

Four rules every email follows

These went into the Email Channel Playbook, so the next designer gets the same result.

  • 1
    Readable with images offMany inboxes block images at first. Headlines in Stag go in as images, but body copy is live Helvetica text, so the message still reads before images load.
  • 2
    Phone firstAbout half of opens were on a phone. Every email is designed at 375 px for phone and 680 px for desktop, with images at 2x for sharp screens.
  • 3
    A moment of redReal people in real places, each photo with a touch of Synovus red. The brand shows even when the logo scrolls away.
  • 4
    One clear actionOne solid red button per section. Other links are outlined or plain text.
06 · What it became

From one look book to a working system

  • The look book went to Synovus and showed the whole program in one voice.
  • The evergreen look became the base for the email template kit.
  • Its rules went into the Email Channel Playbook.
What I would do now

Same system, more proof

  • Test each interactive module against a plain version, so we know the extra build is worth it.
  • Build the modules as coded parts, not only as pictures, so design and code never drift apart.
  • Set up a small results view for each module, so the next round starts from data.
More work

See the other case studies

Email design · look book

Synovus

Emails I designed at Brightwave for Synovus, shown as a look book. It covers Credit Card Activation, Private Wealth and the Project Elevate check-ins.

  • Email
  • Look book
  • Credit card activation
  • Private wealth
  • Project Elevate
  • Brightwave

You are here

Interactive email · Gmail ads

Credit Karma

Email and Gmail ad work I made at Brightwave for Credit Karma. The original email design used placeholder text, so its copy was rewritten for the portfolio.

  • Email
  • HTML email
  • Mobile email
  • Gmail ads
  • Credit Karma
  • Brightwave

View case study

Brand · campaigns · events

risk3sixty

The brand behind a cybersecurity firm that grew from about 15 to 50 people. I designed its brand, campaigns, sales materials and event graphics.

  • Digital ads
  • Landing pages
  • Email
  • Social
  • Decks
  • One-pagers
  • Booths
  • Print
  • Video

View case study

Product brand · naming · UI direction

fullCircle GRC

risk3sixty’s own GRC (governance, risk and compliance) platform. I named it and built its identity. The C and its circle read as a pie chart and a status ring, the data the product exists to show.

  • Naming
  • Identity
  • Logo
  • UI direction

View case study

Mobile app · UX

SiteOne app

My own app idea, pitched to SiteOne, the landscape supply company, while it was a Brightwave client. Shown in a phone mockup.

  • Self-initiated project
  • Mobile app
  • UX
  • App screens
  • Phone mockup

View case study

Card 1 of 5: Synovus

Rewards snapshot

The idea

A rewards email usually says "You have points." This one shows them. The member sees their own balance, their earnings and a road to the next reward, all inside the email.

How it works

One layout serves every card. The photo, card art, icon and accent color change with the card type: blue and a plane for Travel, purple and a cart for Cash Back. The data fields fill in for each member.

What changed in round 2

Round 1 was a simple bar chart. Round 2 added the member ID, the earn category, and a progress ring, so the email answers "how close am I?" at a glance. The card also moved into the photo to save height on the phone.

Design choices

Big numbers in the card color, gray bars for past months, one highlighted bar for this month. One red button. Everything else steps back.

Rewards snapshot email

Sample member data from the design comp.

Tap to explore rewards

The idea

Make the rewards catalog something you play with, not a list you scroll past. The hero photo has plus icons. Tap one and a real reward pops up with its point cost.

How it works

Six states, one email. A first tip says "Click on the plus icons." Each tap opens a reward. Below, "Laura, which reward will you choose?" shows four rewards, and the tracker fills to show how many points you still need.

Design choices

The plus icons sit on the photo where the eye already goes. Pop-ups are small white cards, so the photo stays the hero. The tracker uses the purple card color, not red, so red stays for buttons.

Fallback

Not every inbox runs interactive email. The lower half works as a plain email on its own.

Tap to explore rewards email

Step through the six states the email moves through.

Live poll

The idea

Ask before you sell. A holiday weekend email opens with a fun question, "How are you spending your long weekend?" Answering takes one tap, and it earns attention for the card offer below.

How it works

Before the vote, two photos and two buttons: Vacation and Staycation. After the vote, the buttons turn into live results. Then "Spend. Earn. Enjoy." brings in the card.

A simpler version

A third version drops the poll and leads with the offer: "Get out of town with 2x the gas points." Same season, same system, less build.

Design choices

A dark band makes the poll feel like its own moment. The split photo shows the two answers before you read a word.

Live poll email

Poll results are sample numbers from the design comp.

Birthday email

The idea

This birthday concept turns a member’s year with Synovus into a personal thank-you, using account activity, icons and a celebratory layout.

How it works

Each tile is one fact from the member's year: branch visits, ATM visits, mobile deposits, app logins. Each fact gets its own icon in the same line style. It ends with "What are you dreaming of?" and two soft buttons for a car or a home.

Design choices

A brighter blue and confetti icons make it feel like a card, not a statement. The big numbers do the talking, so the copy can stay short.

Birthday year in review email

Sample member data from the design comp.