We recently quizzed GraphicMail's Design Head, Ruan Benade, about professional best practices to be aware of when approaching HTML Newsletter design, and how to commute these principles to the mobile platform.

Briefly introduce yourself; your background and your main roles at GraphicMail.

I am a Graphic Designer specializing in digital media, interface design and usability. I started out in the print industry way back in the 90's and changed over to digital media around 1998. My role at GraphicMail is as Head of Design. I am involved in all projects requiring design, from trade show stands to application interfaces to email newsletters. I plan projects and ensure they are executed at the required standard.

How would you differentiate between the emphases of web design in small business as opposed to the corporate setting?

Projects would be much bigger in scope, with bigger budgets and longer timelines in the corporate environment. Branding and design would be much more valued, enforced in guidelines documents and by marketing departments. In the small business arena jobs would typically center round a specific need… a website or email newsletter. Budgets would be much smaller and rules would be a lot more flexible. Both environments have pros and cons of their own.

What are the three chief best practices that you adhere to in the area of HTML Newsletter design in the email industry?

The 3 most important practices to adhere to in email design, are:
1)    Keep your designs and layout simple. The more complex it is, the more things can go wrong.
2)    Code like its 1999. Use nested tables for structure and inline styles to style everything else.
3)    Test and test again, but keep in mind pixel-perfection is not an attainable reality for all email clients.

There are a number of optional best practices that will improve the user experience, but the above 3 practices are non-negotiable.

When choosing a newsletter template, what should users be looking for to ensure that they are getting a top quality product?

When choosing an email newsletter template there is two important considerations:
a)    How well is it designed? In other words: can it do the job it is supposed to do?
b)    How well is it coded? In other words: will it look as it’s supposed to in your inbox?

Selecting or downloading a newsletter template from an established email marketing service would ensure a certain level of quality I suppose, but it really comes down to the experience and skill level of the designer and coder. Establishing the quality of the design comes down to asking yourself or a test-subject a few task-related questions. Establishing the quality of the coding comes down to testing the email template on multiple email clients.

How do you strike a balance between artistry and functionality?

The client’s requirements are the most important. Without it there would be no newsletter or emailer. There is some scope for creative expression by a designer, provided the client brief is satisfied and the technical considerations have been addressed. An experienced designer and/or coder should be able to balance these requirements without sacrificing any of them.

Conventional design houses can be a tad skittish to make the conversion when a new movement is in vogue. What advice would you give to other email professionals in transitioning to the mobile platform?

What is important on a mobile device is the same as what’s important on any other device - how useful is the information and how does the user experience it. When transitioning to mobile, it's important to consider that mobile screens are smaller, that long load time of content will increase bounce rate, and that you're talking to people on the go, and via a device that is more private than many others. Consider time of your mobile campaign sends, and make sure add an unsubscribe link in your header and footer of your mobile news.

How do you treat a newsletter that you want to appear on a mobile screen vs. one that you want to appear on desktop?

Well, if you send your newsletter out to your subscriber list, the chances are high that quite a percentage of your readers will open your email on their mobile screens. In order to make sure that the mobile newsletter looks well on any device, you should at least choose a template that only has one column, and make sure your images are small (don't take too much time to load). GraphicMail has recently launched new mobile campaign tools that help you send out a newsletter campaign to your mobile readers via an easy mobile editor. And this is not where it stops - you can take it a step further and create an entire mobile mini site which you send to your clients via a link in an SMS. If you want to know more, check out this page.

What do you imagine the status quo of the direct marketing industry will be 5 years from now?

At the rate of change we’re experiencing it’s anybody’s guess. I will however say that mobile devices will play a much bigger role. It’s suddenly not so outrageous to hear sci-fi authors’ predictions of communication devices built into our bodies.