Mail Me, a project about mail
Fabrica for Bd Ediciones de Diseño
Product, Book edition and Exhibition Design
Barcelona, 2004[en]

mail-me-book-box

[en]

“Mail me” is a multidisciplinary project that sprung from studies for the design of a mailbox done by Fabrica for the Spanish company Bd Ediciones de Diseño. The results are collected in a unique book published by Electa and a conceptual exhibition.
The theme of mail is as complex and varied as the individuals that use it, with implications both for those who send and those who receive. Mail is fast and can last forever. It reflects the thoughts of a moment that an instant later have already changed. The use of mail varies constantly, adapting to the changes in technology which constantly adapts to new contexts. Each day mail seems less necessary yet it continues being used in a general manner in all contexts. It is as personal as it is public; it is private and is often managed by the State. It is old-fashioned but used in new forms. It is certainly rich in contradictions.

About the Mailbox

There was no better choice than Fabrica to take on the project for the design of a new mailbox for Bd Ediciones de Diseño. The insolent, non-conformist and genius spirit of Studi Per of the 70s was very similar to what is currently feeding the young creators at Fabrica. And because there is nobody else in the world who currently fits the bill to create a piece so closely linked to communication.
The entire research center has focused on this creation which has directly involved all the departments and has been guided by the Portuguese duo Rita João and Pedro Ferreira using their industrial approach. For an entire year they have studied, researched, sketched and plotted an endless number of proposals ranging from the most radical utopian to strictly rational. The project has also moved within the two extremes of not giving up the freshness of ideas and not losing touch with the fact that the design eventually has to make it to the market through serial production. For this reason the new Mailbox pays homage to Tusquets and Clotet’s Sardinel in its configuration offering a useful block in the entrance of any building. The new mailbox is larger, offers important innovations in its opening system, uses plastic technology and includes a color option.

About the book

The book —160 signed postcards collected in a surprising packaging–published by Electa. It is a book on mail, made of mail and conceived to be distributed by mail. A group reflection to which many famous creators like Alan Fletcher, Reed Kram, Ed Fella, Enlightenment, Kazuiko Hachiya, Matali Crasset, Charlie White, Uwe Loesch, Oscar Mariné, el Bulli, Ora-ïto, Dextro o Delaware–whether it be on paper, fax or email–have added their personal experiences, general impressions, sublime visions, funny solutions and mental interpretations.

Mail Me

About the exhibition

The exhibition, began its journey at FAD in Barcelona before moving on to other destinations, it was the focal point of all the multidisciplinary elements composing this project: research, design and multimedia production. The exhibition travels in large postal packages, as if the boundary between form and contents for once gets lost in the action.

mail-me-exhibition-fad

A project of Ramón Ubeda and Jaime Hayon

by Fabrica

Project coordination, mailbox and exhibition design
Rita João
Pedro Ferreira

Graphic design
Paolo Palma