Own it. Or rent it. Or borrow it with no intention to giving back.

Hi again, Email Geek 👋

There was a time when everything you owned had a little more personality than it needed.

For example, your parents had a clock shaped like a cat, McDonald’s gave away colorful drinking glasses that probably contained questionable substances, and your notebook had rainbows, unicorns, and tigers.

Nothing was particularly “optimized,” but you remember it. And that’s kind of what happened to email in Q3.

We analyzed the emails people saved most on RGE from July through September and compared them against hundreds of other emails from the same period. Interestingly, the emails that played it safe inside the brand guidelines weren’t the ones people kept coming back to. We saw more playfulness, louder colors, retro styling, and way more welcome emails than expected. Meanwhile, minimalism (the sensible white sneaker of email design) showed up considerably less.

See what made the cut

And now, ad from a partner...

Now to read some stuff that you can share with other people and look smart.

Brands are performing nostalgia to hook you: here’s why

You can apparently miss a time you never lived through. It’s called anemoia, and brands are tapping into it with retro type, old-school packaging, and aesthetics borrowed from decades past. Suddenly our Q3 findings make a lot more sense.

Miss the good old days >

Decision paralysis, lost conviction and no juniors

AI can give creative teams 100 ideas before lunch. Turns out that might be part of the problem. Creative leaders say all those options are exposing shaky conviction, decision paralysis, and a much bigger question: how do junior creatives learn when AI does the junior work?

Pick a lane >

D&AD Trend Report 2026

D&AD looked across 50,000 pieces of creative work from 89 countries to figure out where creativity is headed next. The report gets into AI, craft, humor, culture, and the growing value of making work that actually feels human. Lots to steal here. Respectfully.

Steal some trends >

Halloween email design: 6 tactics worth trying

You don’t need dripping blood fonts, seventeen pumpkins, and a subject line containing the word “spooktacular” to make a Halloween email. Six design lessons from Warby Parker, Shake Shack, RXBAR, Bluey, Tattly, Huel, and others show how to make one without turning your template into a Spirit Halloween.

Summon better emails >

Poll of the week

You asked. We listened. The weird poll thingy of the week is back! You know what to do: hit reply with your answer and we'll tally up the votes. Then we'll try to explain what it means. Here we go.

Question: What’s your prediction for the next big email trend in Q4?

A. Nostalgia overload.
Every email looks like a 1997 Scholastic Book Fair.

B. AI backlash.
Brands say their emails were made by a real, exhausted human.

C. Maximum minimalism.
One word, one button, $40,000 in creative direction.

D. Gamification.
You must solve three puzzles before receiving your 15% discount.

E. Hyper-personalization.
Your email knows what you did last summer style.

Thanks for reading
and learning since September 2026.

P.S. It really helps if you forward this to a friend, colleague, or ex-lover so they understand what you mean when you reference "RGE's email." Also, we're desperate for friends.