The Email Standards Project 29 Nov 2007

The Email Standards Project works with email client developers and the design community at large to improve web standards support and accessibility in email. Its goal is "to help designers understand why web standards are so important for email, while working with email client developers to ensure that emails render consistently."

If you've ever had to design, develop and deliver an HTML email campaign, you'll be well aware of why this initiative is so important (especially if you've done battle with Outlook 2007).

Of course, purists would say that email should be plain-text-only...but given that so many companies are demanding "pretty email" campaigns, turning back the clock in this way seems darned unrealistic.

(PS. The "State of the clients" column - on the left-hand side of the ESP homepage - is a great piece of info-design).