How to Adapt Your Email Design to Dark Mode

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Pablo Díaz · 12 Feb, 2026 · Diseño Gráfico · 2 min

Thedark modein email marketingis one of the most popular trends. Do you want to learn how to adapt your email campaigns to it? We show you tips and design structures designed to adapt your newsletter campaigns to this option that is in the hands of the user.

Index

What is dark mode and why is it used

How to design emails adapting to dark mode

What is dark mode and why is it used

This trend has taken the lead becausethe main mobile phone software and browsers have enabled the option to view applications with less bright colors that cause less visual fatigue. It consists of changing the environment of applications and the mobile or browser itself to dark, with black tones and light letters.Specifically, anyone who hasdark mode activated will benefit from:

Battery saving: offers lower energy consumption compared to the normal light mode.
Better adaptation in dimly lit or nighttime environments: due to its tones and brightness.
Reduction of visual fatigue: by not receiving so much intense white light directly, the eyes feel more rested and it does not affect sleep quality as harshly.

Precisely for this reason,it is a trend that the vast majority of people activate this display option on their mobile phonesor even on Google or Gmail. And that’s where we come in to tell you how you should adapt your email marketing campaigns.

How to design emails adapting to dark mode

This mode changes the default colors to their opposites if it detects that the backgrounds are too light. For this reason, this list of tips will help you knowhow to design newsletter in this mode:

1. Design structurally for both modes

At the HTML level, you canuse tags to detect when Gmail or the mobile device is using dark mode or light mode, so one color scheme or another will be used. Another option is to design directly for this mode, that is, with a dark background and light letters, as it will look good in both modes.

2. Use transparent images

It is advisable thatimages have no background(if the background is going to be white or very light), since dark mode only alters colors in CSS, that is, the background and text colors, but not the images, and this will make them fit better.

3. Try color palettes that are not intense

It is best for dark modeto avoid using pure black(#000000) and instead use dark gray tones leaning towards blacks or dark blues, as this is what dark mode itself does. You can use colors in buttons and images, but make surethey are not harmful to the eyeswhen combined with dark mode.

4. Choose the right typography

If we choose a font that is too thin, in dark mode it will cause manyreading difficulties.In this case, we have two options:

Choose a font that is legible in both modes.
Add a light border to the text that will not be visible in normal mode but will be in dark mode and will facilitate reading.

In short, we are facing an evident trend that you cannot ignore in email marketing campaigns, so you shouldtake advantage of these tips and start adapting to this display option on mobile devices, just as major operating systems and applications are doing. Don’t forget to test in both modes before sending the newsletters!

Escrito por Pablo Díaz Sr Marketing Specialist in Acumbamail. Product & Content enthusiast. Follow Linkedin