10 | TEN | 7+3 | 5×2 | ten | X – Cooper & Beatty postcard, c1963

This postcard is designer Tony Mann’s quietly whimsical way of addressing a recurring problem in running a business. It was a standard business at the time to offer clents a 2% discount if they paid their invoice within ten days. But clients waiting thirty days, or more, and still claiming the discount was also just as common. Mann’s challenge was how many ways can you say ten; 10 | TEN | 7+3 | 5×2 | ten | X? Adding an old wood engraving of two hands that cleverly spell out ten while visually saying STOP reinforced the message without offending the reader.

Mann was one of the few designers who could work within a rigid grid using either Helvetica or Univers and yet still find a way to bring warmth and a human touch to each piece. The CTA is fortunate to have a number of pieces that Mann did when he was at Cooper & Beatty and then later Design Collaborators, before he moved to Halifax in 1969 where he set up the design division for The Nova Scotia College of Art & Design (now NSCAD University).