Whoosh! ‘Email is Dead,’ say the Design Museum and Intuit Mailchimp
Take an immersive tour through the history of email at the Design Museum in London

‘There’s been chatter about the death of email for over a decade, and every time there’s a new thing, “experts” speculate on its extinction; see: SMS, social media, and instant messaging platforms,’ muses Christian Widlic, group creative director at Intuit Mailchimp, an email and marketing automations platform for growing businesses. ‘With the rapid expansion of AI that’s happening, we found the chatter about the death of email to be, quite frankly, hilarious. In fact, with the help of AI, our inboxes are becoming increasingly personalised, helping marketers reach the right audience with the right message at the right time. In essence, email is becoming smarter than it’s ever been.’
It is a subject that forms the core of the Design Museum’s new exhibition, ‘Email is Dead’, though the Intuit Mailchimp team are quick to reassure us they are not, in fact, mourning email, but rather celebrating its longevity over the last 50 years. Its journey is traced in the exhibition, which encourages visitors to touch, listen, look at and even smell email throughout the decades.
‘Email is Dead’ at London’s Design Museum
‘Our core concept was to “make the mundane magnificent”, and we knew early on that we wanted to make this experience feel immersive with tangible, interactive touchpoints. Some of our favourite art experiences are extremely interactive and engaging, like laying down in a Turrell skyspace, or walking through a Richard Serra sculpture. For us to achieve this we really had to take a 360-view of email. One big question for us was what does email look, smell, feel and sound like? And we put a lot of intention into exploring those themes throughout the exhibition.
‘The whole exhibit is interactive, but some of our favourite moments are the email-personality-test-machine, which discovers what kind of emailer you really are. In looking at the future of email, we are displaying inventions that might tackle some of emails flaws – like your dreaded piles of unanswered emails or the temptation to fire off an email that really shouldn’t be sent – and offered up dreamy cures like an Inbox Elixir (recipe included) or an Email Therapy Machine for everyday problems.’
Synthesised sounds of the familiar whoosh and ding, a scent developed with Something Special Studios and Tatiana Godoy Betancur, and a celebration of the typeface used in the first email sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971 are just some of the immersive facets of the experience. ‘We wanted to bring email to life in that same bright and playful way, using sculpture and digital content to amplify the joyfulness of the executions using a variety of scale, surprise, and imagination,’ Widlic adds. ‘And while the playfulness helps visually to tell the story, we think visitors will be pleasantly surprised at just how much email helps shape our work lives, relationships, cultures and economies.’
‘Email is Dead’ at the Design Museum, 28 September – 22 October 2023, designmuseum.org
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.
-
M&C Saatchi new Berlin office interiors embrace bold colour
The new M&C Saatchi interior by Llot Llov stays true to the city’s architecture while echoing the beauty of minimalist design
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Comme Si’s first store in Brooklyn is a design lover’s temple to socks
Sock and loungewear brand Comme Si launches a temporary Brooklyn store, a rich and inviting space created with designers Elias Studio, John Sohn and Yoonjee Kwak
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Shop independent design from these online destinations
The best curated online platforms to shop independent design, from designers’ artworks to furniture by emerging creatives
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Sarabande opens one-stop London store in time for the festive season
The Sarabande Foundation has opened a new permanent art, interiors and fashion store in London
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Now Gallery presents the vibrant culture of ‘A Young South Africa’ captured through the lens
Now Gallery’s ‘A Young South Africa, Human Stories’ showcases six inspiring photographers for the 2023
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Women in Revolt!’ at Tate Britain is a deliciously angry tour de force of feminist art
‘Women in Revolt!’ puts feminist art from 1970 – 1990 under the spotlight at Tate Britain
By Hannah Silver Published
-
From Nabokov to Miffy: Liu Ye on his cultural references
Artist Liu Ye tells us what inspires him, as his exhibition ‘Naive and Sentimental Painting’ is on show in London
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Christina Quarles on contorting your body to fit into the frame
Christina Quarles presents ‘Tripping Over My Joy’ at Pilar Corrias’ new flagship Mayfair space
By Katie Tobin Published
-
V&A East announces ‘The Music Is Black: A British Story’, its first major exhibition
London’s V&A East to examine the cultural impact of Black British music with its inaugural exhibition in 2025
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Hiroshi Sugimoto reflects on time and truth ahead of his London retrospective
As ‘Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine’ opens at Hayward Gallery, the artist tells us of his guiding force, and why his Seascapes always end up in the bedroom
By Danielle Demetriou Published
-
MJ Harper’s performance piece at London’s Koko will close Frieze Week in style
Artist MJ Harper will premiere ‘Arias for a New World’ at Koko in London this Sunday, 15 October 2023
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published