Post Early
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Post Early was the first public information campaign launched after the creation of the public relations department in 1934. Recognising the need to secure public participation in order to improve efficiency, it was directed at changing the habit of posting at the end of the day.
The commission for The Last Minute proposed that rather than "merely commanding" the public to post early, it would be better to show "what inconvenience they will suffer, when they post late". The poster was never adopted as its treatment was thought to be "out of keeping with Post Office requirements".
Post during lunch hour shows a different type of commission for the same theme. Writing on the use of colour, mass and line, Edward McKnight Kauffer once described the "sledge hammer" effect of geometric patterns when handled by a sensitive designer.
While Post your letters before noon still looks to the fine art tradition, it does so through the imaginary transformation of surrealist painting. Produced in 1941, this poster represents the development of the campaign to improve efficiency during wartime.
The Last Minute
designed by Vanessa Bell, 1935 (POST 110/2489)
The Post Office commissioned the Bloomsbury artist Vanessa Bell to design this poster in 1934, but it was never used.
Post during lunch hour
designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer, 1937 (POST 110/2491)
Artists such as Kauffer, in comparison to Bell, were used to the issues of typography and lettering. Their work was more successful in being approved, as the poster Post during lunch hour demonstrates.
Post Early, Parcels by Dec: 18. Letters by Dec: 20
designed by Leonard Beaumont, 1947 (POST 110/1217)
From its early attempts to reduce last minute posting, the post early theme underwent various reinventions. British designer Leonard Beaumont's public information poster informed of the latest safe posting dates for Christmas. Beaumont uses strong colour contrasts and bold typography, producing a coherent visual language. The design comprises planes, lines and dots, which together create an illusion of space. The lettering, as well as the artist's signature, are part of the design rather than added elements. The dots and circles provide the only visual reference to Christmas.
Post your letters before noon
designed by Jan Lewitt and George Him, 1941 (POST 110/3184)
