Paul Airy is an email designer and developer with a deep focus on typography, code, and accessibility. A full-timer who freelances on the side, his path into email wasn’t planned — it emerged while working in fashion, where a role labeled “web designer” quickly turned into a hands-on immersion in email design. What began as creating highly visual campaigns soon grew into a fascination with how people actually experience email. That curiosity has shaped Paul’s work ever since, pushing him to question long-standing practices and ultimately focus on making email more inclusive and accessible.
‘I didn’t choose email, email chose me’, is the story so many of us share, myself included. For me it was in the fast paced world of fashion, working as a Web Designer in name only, and in fact, spending my time working as an Email Designer, creating highly visual emails. Fascinated by the way customers interacted with my work, through insights in analytics, I made it my mission to deliver excellent email experiences to them. To this end, I began challenging how we ‘did email‘ at the time, to take type out of images and put layouts into mobile. After achieving this, and writing my ebook, ‘A Type of Email’, I challenged myself to take things further. This led to what has become my life’s work since then – making emails more accessible!
Wow! What a question. For four years I worked as a Book Designer. While this might seem the exact opposite of email, it has many similarities. Book covers need to engage interest very quickly (like an email). They do so using typography and imagery (like an email). They include clean and clear copy (like an email), and in my experience were even typeset using basic markup, like HTML for email. Since then, I’ve worked client-side, alongside teams creating websites and apps, and being exposed to different channels has challenged me to get the most from HTML email.
My ‘steady role’ is just that, though I’m fortunate enough to have one that challenges both my creativity and coding skills. The work I do outside that, whether that be freelance or side projects, like Type E:, add value to my ‘steady role’, as it benefits from the skills and insights I’ve added to my repertoire. I am fully committed to both, and neither takes away from the other.
I think the competing demands are the seedbed of staying sharp. As long as I’m looking after my well-being, I can continue to grow without burning out. However, I’ve found it’s important not to try and focus on too many things, which is why I‘ve focused on accessibility, which is something I am personally passionate about.
At this stage in life, I would keep the mix, as it works. It may change in the future, but for now it gives me the best of both worlds.
What Paul’s story makes clear is that growth doesn’t always come from adding more — sometimes it comes from choosing less. In an industry driven by constant change and new tools, Paul deliberately narrowed his focus, allowing his full-time role, freelance work, and personal projects to reinforce each other rather than compete. Within The Freelance Project, his journey highlights a different kind of sustainability: one built on craft, patience, and care for the end user. It’s a reminder that lasting impact in email isn’t created by doing everything, but by committing deeply to the work that truly matters.
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Add Your Voice!
This interview is part of The Email Freelancer Pathways Project, a series documenting the many different paths into email.
Through a short survey, I’m collecting experiences from email professionals to make these career journeys visible — and to help advocate for better access to the tools people are expected to master.
If you work in email in any capacity, your experience matters.
📩 Connect with me on LinkedIn or send a message.
With Love from Vancouver
Annett
Founder, EmailBoutique.io
