Decade - 1970s

Sample image from 1970s poster Faced with staff shortages, spiralling costs and falling customer numbers, London Transport's traditional 'soft sell' approach to publicity was no longer appropriate. A central marketing department was established to deliver direct and measurable results and poster commissions were increasingly contracted out to agencies. Tom Eckersley, Abram Games and Hans Unger continued to produce high quality graphic designs, but far fewer than they had in the 1960s. When Michael Levey became publicity Officer in 1975, the number of posters commissions directly from artists was reduced to just four a year. By the end of the decade, posters were predominantly photographic and struggled to contribute positively to the stylistic development of poster art.