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Google Envelopes Make Snail Mail Cool Again

by Amar Toor on April 4, 2010 at 08:30 AM

Just when we were about to write off snail mail for good, a couple of guys from Syracuse University may have just made it relevant once more by brilliantly fusing Google with the USPS. Rahul Mohtani and Yofred Moik's Google Envelopes, if implemented into Gmail, would allow users to send paper versions of their e-mails to real, non-dot-com addresses, encased in specially designed map envelopes. As Engadget reports, Gmail users could, in theory, simply click a 'Send Envelope' button to receive a printout of their missive along with an envelope that, itself, would be an enlarged GoogleMaps itinerary, directly displaying the quickest possible route of delivery.

It's all just a concept at this point, and we'd imagine that Google would have to figure out how to work around that pesky postage thing, but, if there's one way to revive the USPS, it would probably have to involve some sort of revamped, with-the-times aesthetic like this one. If all written letters of the future are encased in meta-reminders of our postal past, does this mean the post office would actually become postmodern? [From: Yanko Design, via: Engadget]

Tags: concept, design, envelopes, Gmail, google, GoogleMaps, mail, post office, PostOffice, SnailMail, top, usps

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