An About Face

You’ll need a pen to navigate the better part of Martí Guixé’s new offerings for Alessi. The Catalan designer’s first collection for the Italian manufacturer includes three “communicator” vessels that have places—in the shape of an arrow, balloons, and a plant—to scribble notes. A blank clock allows you to fill in any thoughts, images, or other associations you have with time. (There’s also a version bearing phrases pre-chosen by Guixé.)

The designer is known for his provocative, participatory work, and the Alessi piece that most poetically exemplifies that knack is the Seed Safe, a kind of piggy bank for future plants. There are also two rather conventional items—a tubular vase and a plastic container with the look of a sugar cube—but those are the trickiest sorts of products to do, by Guixé’s measure. “Right now I am not only trying to design objects but also the context for them,” he says. “I would like to use the relationship with Alessi to do more of the real, which is a challenge for me. You have to be less radical, but I would like to try it.”