Former Pinterest Team Revamps Email Design with Extra—and It Works

A sleek, data‑driven redesign shows how “less is more” can boost engagement without sacrificing brand personality.

When a former Pinterest engineering crew set out to overhaul their marketing emails, they abandoned the over‑stuffed layouts that dominate most inboxes and replaced them with a minimalist aesthetic they call Extra. The result? Higher open rates, longer reads, and a fresh visual language that feels both modern and unmistakably Pinterest. Below, we unpack the key decisions behind Extra, the metrics that proved its worth, and practical takeaways you can apply to your own email strategy.

Why “Extra” Was Needed

Pinterest’s email campaigns traditionally leaned on rich graphics, multiple product cards, and a “one‑size‑fits‑all” design template. While visually appealing, these emails suffered from three recurring pain points:

1. Mobile clutter – Over 60 % of Pinterest’s audience opens promotional emails on smartphones, where dense layouts lead to accidental taps and quick scroll‑aways.
2. Message dilution – Multiple calls‑to‑action (CTAs) confused readers, lowering click‑through rates (CTR).
3. Performance drag – Heavy image files increased load times, especially on slower networks, and hurt deliverability scores.

The redesign team asked a simple question: What if we stripped everything back to the essentials while still delivering Pinterest’s signature inspiration?

Core Principles of the Extra Design

1. Single‑Focus Narrative

Each email now tells one concise story—whether it’s “Your weekly home‑decor picks” or “New recipes for dinner this week.” The headline, hero image, and CTA all reinforce the same theme, eliminating the mental juggling users endure with multi‑product emails.

2. Whitespace as a Visual Anchor

Generous margins and clean typographic hierarchy guide the eye naturally toward the primary CTA. By reducing visual noise, the design feels less “advertisement‑y” and more like a curated pin board, aligning with Pinterest’s brand ethos.

3. Progressive Image Loading

Images are delivered via responsive src‑set tags that serve the smallest appropriate file based on device DPI. A low‑resolution placeholder loads instantly, then swaps to the full‑resolution asset in the background—cutting perceived load time by an average of 0.8 seconds.

4. Dynamic Content Blocks

Instead of a static grid, Extra uses modular blocks that reorder themselves based on user behavior data. For a user who frequently saves travel pins, the email will prioritize a travel‑inspired block, while a home‑decor enthusiast sees those pins first.

5. Bold, Single CTA Buttons

Primary actions (“Save this pin,” “Shop the look”) are isolated in high‑contrast buttons with ample tap‑area (44 × 44 px minimum). Secondary links are de‑emphasized, reducing click friction.

Measurable Wins

After a four‑week A/B test with 500,000 recipients, the Extra variant outperformed the legacy template across all core metrics:

The most striking improvement came in time spent—readers lingered almost twice as long, indicating deeper engagement with the curated content.

Lessons for Email Marketers

1. Prioritize One Goal per Send – Identify the single action you want the reader to take and make every element support it.
2. Leverage Data‑Driven Personalization – Use behavior signals to reorder content blocks, not just to swap out images. This keeps the email feeling tailor‑made without extra design work.
3. Embrace Mobile‑First Performance – Optimize images for progressive loading and keep total email size below 100 KB when possible. Faster load times correlate directly with higher CTR.
4. Use Whitespace Strategically – Empty space isn’t wasted; it creates visual hierarchy and reduces cognitive overload, especially on small screens.
5. Test Bold CTA Placement – A single, high‑contrast button can double click‑through rates compared to multiple muted links.

How to Implement a Similar Redesign

1. Audit Existing Emails – List every CTA, image, and text block. Identify redundancies and low‑performing elements.
2. Define a Singular Narrative – Draft a headline and sub‑headline that summarize the email’s purpose in 8 words or fewer.
3. Create a Flexible Block Library – Design reusable modules (hero image, quote, CTA) that can be programmatically reordered via your ESP’s dynamic content rules.
4. Set Up Responsive Image Pipelines – Use tools like ImageKit or Cloudinary to generate WebP assets and automatically serve the correct size based on user device.
5. Run a Controlled A/B Test – Split your list 50/50, monitor load times, and track the same KPIs Pinterest used. Iterate based on real‑world data.

The Bigger Picture: Email as a Pin‑Board Extension

Pinterest’s core value proposition is visual discovery. By mirroring that experience in email—clean layouts, curated inspiration, and instant load—Extra turns a traditional promotional channel into a natural extension of the platform. This alignment reinforces brand trust and encourages users to move fluidly between inbox and app, ultimately driving higher long‑term retention.

Conclusion

The Extra redesign illustrates that simplicity does not mean “plain” and that data‑driven minimalism can outperform a barrage of visuals. For marketers seeking higher engagement, the formula is clear: focus on a single narrative, let whitespace breathe, personalize content blocks, and optimize for mobile speed. Implementing these principles can transform your email campaigns from noisy sales pitches into curated experiences that users actually look forward to opening.

Take the Pinterest example as a blueprint—your inbox audience is waiting for a cleaner, faster, and more relevant experience. Start redesigning today, and watch your metrics climb as readers linger, click, and convert with renewed enthusiasm.