Construct a striking email header in a vintage modern style

Create a bold email header with fonts, shapes, and colors to build a reusable template that reflects your brand.

Published January 26, 2026

00:01

Introduction

Looking to give your email newsletters a signature look?

My name is Sydney Michuda, Creative Director of Super Creative, and together we'll create a vintage-modern header that you can use again and again.

00:09

Setting up the email header canvas and background

Create a new document and set the artboard to an email header size like 600 px x 300 px, and make sure the Color Mode is RGB Color for digital.

Bring your logo and colors into the document.

Since the header acts as the title of the newsletter, let's give it a dark background so it stands out from the inner email content.

Let's also add a subtle grunge texture to give it an artisanal look.

00:27

Adding texture and establishing the base layout

To do this, place your grunge texture in the document and in the Transparency window, select Multiply and reduce the Opacity to 45%.

Let's start laying things out.

Move your logo to the upper middle of your artboard.

I'm going to add Barbershop below the logo, so viewers have an added layer of context.

Let's use a font like Interstate to match the utilitarian style

00:49

Building a vintage-modern typography system

and track it out to 100.

Increase tracking to uppercase letters adds an elevated vintage touch.

Let's also add the name of the newsletter, so viewers know what they're looking at.

I'm using the same font as Barbershop, but I've made it a little smaller since it's slightly less important than the logo.

I'd like to add a decorative script font to the layout to continue this vintage modern vibe.

So, let's add a descriptor line above the name and find a fancy but still legible script like R41 Alphabeta 16.

I'm going to add a small dot between the logo and the name as a subtle way to separate the information.

And just for fun, I'm going to add the shop's established year in Roman numerals above the logo.

01:31

Filling negative space with decorative text elements

The sides feel a little empty, so let's add more decorative text.

Type out a tagline in the sans serif font Interstate but change the adjective to the script font R41 Alphabeta.

Stack and vertically align this type.

With the Ellipse Tool, click near the center of your text and hold Shift and Alt to create a circle around your group of text.

Change the fill to an outline and make sure it's centered inside the circle.

Then drag it into the empty space.

Repeat this process for an accompanying tagline on the right side.

02:02

Creating a gold foil border and exporting for web

Lastly, let's add a gold border around the graphic to frame our design.

Place a gold foil image into your document.

With the Rectangle Tool, click and type the artboard size 600 px x 300 px, remove the color fill and add a stroke.

In the Stroke window, click Align Stroke to Inside and increase the stroke Weight to 10 pt.

We're going to turn this outline into a mask for the gold foil, so we'll need to change this outline to a solid shape.

Select the shape and go to Object, Expand Appearance.

You'll notice this is now a filled shape rather than an outline.

From here, select the shape and gold foil image and go to Object, Clipping Mask, Make.

Now the gold foil is contained within that clipping mask and with that your email header is finished.

Save your work as an .ai file for future use, and save it for web by selecting File, Export, Export As..., select JPEG, click Use Artboards, select Medium (150 ppi) and hit OK.

Feel free to use the same header for every email or if you'd like the header to be slightly different, change the background color or add the release date to the layout.

Now you're ready to create polished email headers with custom type details that will keep your newsletters looking sharp.

Again, my name is Sydney Michuda of Super Creative.

Thanks for watching.

Note: Stock assets provided are for practice purposes only. See terms.

What you’ll learn

Set up the header size

Create a new document with the exact size and resolution you need. Then, import your logo, text, and brand colors to start designing.

Lay out the design elements

Choose fonts that complement your logo’s unique style. Adjust font sizes and styles, and use stacked objects to create monogram-inspired elements. A shiny border adds extra flair and ties the design together.

Explore variations and save your header

Experiment with color variations or swap design elements for seasonal use. Save the designs in Illustrator format for future edits and export a JPEG at medium resolution for email use.

Instruction by: Sydney Michuda
Design by: Sydney Michuda
Adobe Stock Contributors: v.stock; Avantgarde

Try these tutorials with Illustrator

Create illustrations and other graphics with vectors.

View all plans

Cookie Settings

General information

Cookies are small text files stored by your web browser when you use websites. There are also other technologies that can be used for similar purposes like HTML5 Local Storage and local shared objects, web beacons, and embedded scripts. These technologies help us do things like remembering you and your preferences when you return to our sites, measure how you use the website, conduct market research, and gather information about the ads you see and interact with.

If enabled:

We can improve your experience by tailoring the site and the content to things we think might be of interest
We can better keep track of your preferences — like what language you prefer to use
We will better understand your likely interests so we can provide you more relevant Adobe ads and content on non-Adobe websites and in non-Adobe apps
It will help us improve the performance of our website and those of our partners who use the Adobe Experience Cloud

If disabled:

We won’t be able to remember you from session to session so the experience may not be tailored to your interests
You’ll still have access to the content of the site but certain features that depend on cookies may not function
You’ll still see ads, they just may not be as relevant to you