The Scholarship Points email doesn't have a very eye-catching design. There's a bunch of block text that makes it not something you want to spend time reading.
This design is fairly simple but it gets its point across. Abebooks makes sure that you know that their highest priorities for textbooks are that they're cheap to buy, fast to get, and easy to find.
The problem with this design is that there isn't a clear hierarchical scale.
This design while it does have a lot of text, has a nice balance with the alternating images and the names of the designers bolded so if you're skimming the text you might stop and actually read if you recognize the name.
A hierarchical scale is very evident in this design. Adobe wants the viewer to focus on his chance to be better a teacher while at the same time saving money.
This other design by Adobe is advertising the same product as the ad above but in a different format. It does a good job of using the golden rectangle.
This html email does a good job of using the grid structure.
I think that the block of text in the corner should have been moved down a little bit so that there's not tension at the corner with the rectangle that runs diagonal, but the font works well with the image.
There's a clear grid structure, hierarchy, and the text is broken up into small pieces so it's easy to read, and with every block of text there's a link to click on to give you further information on the subject.
Michaels' design is much more fun than most html emails. They use color to differentiate between information and make it clear that you'll save at their sales.
