NuSmile
Building a scalable email system
NuSmile
Building a scalable email system
NuSmile, a leading provider of pediatric dental solutions, relied heavily on email marketing to communicate with 12,000+ pediatric dentists. However, their existing e-blast system performance showed low engagement and an inefficient production process, making it difficult to scale and maintain consistency. To address this, I developed a scalable email design system that improved click rates, streamlined email production, and introduced a reusable component-based structure for future campaigns.
Role.
Product Designer
Collaborators.
Zeina Hannoun
Kelly Richard
Dremaceo Giles
Duration.
November 2024-January 2025
Tools.
Figma
Illustrator
Photoshop
Campaign Monitor
Key Challenges
Low Engagement – With an average of 100,000+ emails sent per month, NuSmile’s average click rate was only 2.0% of total opens. Many emails lacked clear CTAs, suffered from weak content hierarchy, and weren’t optimized for mobile.
Poor Sales Conversions— Only 2% of total clicks resulted in actual purchases, indicating a disconnect between email messaging and user intent.
Inefficient Production Workflow – Each campaign took 7+ days to design and gain approval due to a lack of templates and inconsistent branding, making timely promotions nearly impossible, limiting sales opportunities.
Objectives & Goals
Immediate Goals
Reduce production time to 2-3 days
Increase Click Rates
Optimize for Mobile & Sales Conversions
Extended Goals
Enhance Content Structure
Reduce unnecessary clicks by making key product and promotion details clearer in the email.
Ensure Mobile Optimization
Improve readability, button accessibility, and responsiveness to support mobile-first engagement.
User Research & Insights
Target Audience
Dental assistants and clinic administrators managing daily operations and supply management.
Key Pain Points (User Quotes)
“The faster I get my job done, the faster I get to go home.”
“I don’t have time to go through long emails—I just need the key details.”
“Restocking inventory is not even a slice of my day.”
“The faster I get my job done, the faster I get to go home.”
“Restocking inventory is not even a slice of my day.”
“I don’t have time to go through long emails—I just need the key details.”
Paint Points (User Quotes)
Competitive Analysis
What Worked: Competitor emails had bold headlines, mobile-friendly CTAs, and scannable content structures.
Opportunities: NuSmile’s emails lacked strong and consistent call-to-action buttons, had weak content hierarchy, and were not fully optimized for mobile readability. Additionally, I designed the new system with WCAG compliance in mind to ensure a more inclusive experience.
Competitor's Emails
Data Insights
Best Performing Campaigns: Educational webinars and events, and seasonal promotions had the highest engagement, suggesting that users respond better to value-driven content than direct sales pitches.
Click Map Analysis: Users often clicked “No Image” links, indicating broken images or bad readability.
Behavior Economics: We applied behavioral economics principles to optimize the new email design, aiming to motivate users to complete their profiles.
This strategy is informed by the first optimal solution identified through third-party research.
Click Map Analysis
Which one would get you to click the "Buy Now" button?
Ideation
To transform NuSmile’s e-blasts, my brainstorms centered around efficiency, engagement, and mobile optimization.
Systemizing Call-to-Actions for Engagement
Replaced inconsistencies in CTA button labels, size, and shape
CTAs were labeled with varying and sometimes misleading labels, such as: "learn more" → "purchasing page", "call now, 713-123-1111, call us now!", etc.
Positioned CTA buttons higher in the email layout for immediate visibility
Added CTA buttons after a body or image that calls for users redirection
Improve Email-to-Sales Flow
Shortened the path to purchase
Placed key product details, pricing, and direct purchase links within the email
Added educational content
Highlighted the features and scientific backing to increase the reason for buying our product
Optimizing Production Efficiency
Developed modular templates for different types of emails to eliminate redundancy.
Created an approval workflow guide to reduce unnecessary back-and-forth edits.
Lo-Fidelity Wireframe
Old
It's hard to digest what the content is going to be about
Doesn't represent NuSmile branding
Dense content, bad hierarchy = users have a hard time knowing what to look for
CTA sizing is not user-friendly on mobile devices
Hi-Fidelity Wireframe
New
Use font size, color, and weight to increase text contrast and improve hierarchy
Focus on context-specific elements and make key visuals the most eye-catching
Apply proper spacing to establish a clear visual hierarchy
Follow Fitts’s Law by making interactive buttons large, especially for finger-operated mobile devices (80% of users view our emails on mobile)
Design System
To reduce inconsistencies across email campaigns and help teams collaborate more effectively, I created an email design system for NuSmile. This system includes clear guidelines for typography, color, layout, components, and imagery. It keeps the brand consistent while making production faster, easier, and consistent. By focusing on real campaign needs and platform limitations, I built a flexible tool that supports both designers and marketers.
NuSmile Email Design System
Modular Design
I took a modular approach (rapid application) to the design system, treating each section like a building block that could be reused and rearranged based on the content. This made it easier and faster to build emails while keeping everything consistent. For designers, the system removes the need to start from scratch each time. The layout and components are already in place, so we can focus more on creating strong visuals and messaging. For developers or marketers, it reduces back-and-forth and helps speed up the review process. It’s a plug-and-play setup that supports quality and efficiency at the same time.
Modular Approach (Rapid Application)
Plug and Play
Cross Product Integration
The modular system allows us to quickly adapt email templates for different products and events while keeping a consistent brand look. This makes production faster and ensures a cohesive experience across all campaigns.
Cross Product Integration
Results
Design System Results - NuSmile 2025
Following the implementation of the new email design system, we saw a 1% increase in click rate, reaching 360 users. Sales conversion also improved by 2%, with 4% of clicks leading to purchases. Most notably, production time dropped by five full days, reducing the turnaround from over a week to just two to three days. These results highlight both improved performance and greater efficiency across our campaigns.
Reflection
This project highlighted the need to balance business goals with user needs while building scalable systems that improve both efficiency and experience. One of the biggest challenges was navigating stakeholder preferences, especially when requests for content-heavy designs conflicted with best practices for readability and engagement. Through user research, we identified key pain points like small font sizes and accessibility gaps, which led to specific design improvements. Educational content and case studies increased engagement and conversions, and the modular system helped cut production time from over a week to just 2 to 3 days. It also supported consistent design across email, social media, print, and SMS, making the overall marketing process faster and more cohesive.
Moving Forward
We continue to track performance and gather insights from ongoing campaigns to improve design and boost engagement. As we develop more flexible and impactful modules, our focus remains on refining the NuSmile Email Design System for long-term growth. With a clear brand direction, structured system, and smoother workflows, we are set up to deliver more consistent and effective email communications over time.