21 Email Design Tools to Transform Your Emails

Summer is the perfect time to think of ways to refresh your email marketing strategy and gear up for a busy fall. So, set aside some time to regroup and recharge your emails with these email design tools. We've rounded up 21 design tools and resources (organized by categories) as a guide to strengthen your visuals and make your email campaigns more interesting. You're sure to find something that will make your emails pop!

Font, Icon, and Stock Photo Tools

1. WhatFont

WhatFont is one of the email design tools that we use all the time on the blog. It's a Chrome extension that allows users to hover a cursor over a web font to see the name that pops up. This is a great way to see the fonts that brands are using, and it only takes seconds to find out the name when you stumble upon great text on a page.

2. The Noun Project

Browse an enormous library of icons on The Noun Project. Just like a photo library, the site is searchable by keyword and contains thousands of images. Most are available as a free download if you give credit—or you can bypass giving credit by paying a small royalty fee, typically $1.99. Unlimited memberships are also available for $9.99/month.

3. Pexels

For an extensive library of free stock photos, try Pexels. Images are searchable by keyword, popular images, and top photographers. And, they're sortable by color, helping you stay on-brand and within an email's aesthetic.

4. Unsplash

Here's another great resource for "do-whatever-you-want" hi-res photos. Search by collection or keyword to sort through beautiful, large images that can be downloaded in just a couple clicks.

Photo Editing and Design Tools

5. BeFunky

This free, simple, and easy-to-use tool is part web-based photo editor, part collage-maker, and part designer. Upload an image (or use one of theirs), and add effects, graphics, text overlays, and more. When you're finished, just download the .JPG or .PNG, and you're ready to roll.

6. Canva

Canva is at the top of nearly everyone's list of email design tools for creating beautiful visual content online. The drag-and-drop tool, which is free to use, allows you to search stock images (most cost $1 for one-time use), add text and illustrations, and create charts and lines, all on a blank canvas. The final product can be exported as an image file.

7. VSCOcam

If you're on the go and need to format and polish your photos quickly, try this iPhone and Android app, which lets you add filters and edit images in nearly endless ways. Use it for free or pay a few bucks for special filters.

8. Placeit

Need to see a rendering of your product on a mobile or tablet screen? Placeit lets you insert a screenshot into iPhone and iPad mockup templates for free. It's especially useful for app developers, or for any brand with a web-based product that needs to be shown in action.

9. Skitch (for Mac only)

As an Evernote product, Skitch is a super speedy screenshot tool that's great for annotating images with shapes, arrows, and text. The app is free for Mac users only and is handy for email design inspiration, revisions, and mockups, as well as finished products.

10. TinyPNG

TinyPNG uses smart lossy compression techniques to reduce the file size of your PNG and JPEG image files. As a result, your images will load much, much faster on mobile devices.

11. Google Drawings

Simpler than Google Charts, Google Drawings harkens to the good ol' days of the original Paint application. The tool allows you to choose images, add text, create shapes, or make free-form drawings. Think of it as a PowerPoint or Keynote slide—a blank canvas ready for your vision.

12. Pinterest

Okay, so as far as email design tools go, Pinterest isn't a tool per se, but it is one of our favorite places to go for email design inspiration. With great boards cropping up all the time, it's a perfect one-stop-shop for checking out fonts, colors, images, and great designs.

GIF and Meme Tools

13. Giphy

Animation in email is a great way to boost interest and engagement. Giphy lets users create fun animated GIFs and search an extensive database of pre-made GIFs in different categories.

14. Imgflip

Who doesn't love memes? Imgflip is a meme generator tool that takes seconds to use. Upload your own image or browse from their collection to create a meme that will make your subscribers giggle. Templates are searchable, and you can also make simple GIFs or charts on the site.

Prototyping and Video Tools

15. InVision

This prototyping, collaboration, and workflow platform can be used for tasks like wireframing email journeys for automated email series. It's free to use and gives users access to impressive capabilities like real-time design meetings and whiteboarding, project management, and user testing.

16. PowerInbox

Bring static emails to life with PowerInbox's DynamicMail tool. Create real-time content, add video to email, and include dynamic animations using the platform's tools. Contact the company for information about pricing.

Chart, Graph, and Survey Tools

17. Typeform

Just by visiting the Typeform site, it's obvious the brand knows good design. Without the need to sign up, users can use the free web-based tool to make elegant forms and surveys.

18. Google Charts

If you have a Gmail account, you have access to a multitude of free tools from Google. With Google Charts, you can create interactive charts and graphs in customizable colors and styles—but you will need an understanding of how to code to optimize the tool.

19. Google Forms

Another great tool from Google is Forms, which allows you to collect votes, survey your co-workers, or gather poll data into a sheet. It's easy and intuitive to create a new form, and you'll have the option to send it via email, copy and paste the link of the form or embed it. Keep in mind that embedded HTML as an iframe isn't supported by email clients.

20. Infogr.am

Among the free email design tools available, Infogr.am lets users create and publish data visualizations. Upload your own data and choose between line graphs, word clouds, area charts, scatter plots, and plenty of other options.

21. A Drag-and-Drop Email Editor

We had to save the best for last! With drag-and-drop functionality and beautiful templates, assembling one-of-a-kind emails is straightforward and fast. Plus, emails are always 100% responsive, so they look great across multiple devices and screens.

Which tools do you use?

What are your favorite email design tools? Which ones does your business use and rely on?