Night Mail is an acclaimed British 1936 documentary on the traveling post office. When I saw the poster design, with it's dark colors, handcrafted type and geometric shapes, I decided to look into who designed it. The artist in question: Patrick Cokayne Keely, or Pat Keely.

Pat Keely specialized in posters, publication ads and trade fliers, including WWII materials. Among other clients, he designed for the London Transport from 1933-1962, and did work for the British General Post Offices, creating prints like the Night Mail poster and the designs below.

Vintage graphic design is a great place to look for inspiration. Before undo, copy/paste, color fill and the pen tool, there were rulers, pencils/ink pens and paint. In the little imperfections there is character, and in the perfection there is care and deliberateness.

Some other posts you might enjoy on our design blog:

The Lost Monument Poster by Michael Lee
Google Chrome Commissioned Designs from Mike Lemanski
50 Matchbooks: Vintage Graphic Design

Images via NMSI, The National Archives, The British Postal Museum and Archive, London Transport Museum, and MOMA