Saul Bass was an American graphic designer born in the Bronx, New York, best known for his designs of film posters and title sequences. He studied at James Monroe High school and then graduated, studying part time in the Arts Student League in Manhattan.
There were little opportunities to study graphic design in Bass’ time as it was considered a low profession, so he made the decision to enter the workforce rather than attend a college that offered a graphic design course. This explains why he fitted into Hollywood so well because most people learned from what they were actually doing instead of attending school or college.
During his career, Bass worked for some of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Otto Preminger. In his interviews he would say “I always knew I was going to be Saul Bass, commercial artist.”
Title Sequences
His first major break was in 1954, after many years of print work for film and advertising. This was the poster for the film ‘Carmen Jones’. Otto Preminger, the filmmaker was so impressed that he asked him to create the title sequence as well. He saw the potential of what he could do with the opening and closing credits and therefore used it effectively.
He described his main goal for his title sequences to reach a “simple, visual phrase that tells you what the picture is all about and evokes the essence of the story.”
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) – based on a jazz musician’s struggle with overcoming a heroin addiction; a taboo subject in the 50s. He stated that…
“The intent of this opening was to create a mood spare, gaunt, with a driving intensity… [that conveyed] the distortion and jaggedness, the disconnectedness and disjointedness of the addict’s life the subject of the film.”
Bass created kinetic typography which was a completely distinctive technique that added life into the type and graphics. Kinetic type became one of Bass’s most signature features added to his title sequences, where the letters dashed across the screen. It allowed him to incorporate the text and not just imagery. These titles then became more interesting and made the movie exciting before they had even begun. An example of this was for ‘Vertigo’ in 1958.
This technique is still carried out today by some of the world’s biggest corporations such as Disney, Pixar and Universal.
Saul Bass’ Logos
Bass’ logo work is completely unique, with him often being described as one of the single most successful graphic designers of the 20th century. He created logos with a clean, minimal design which were meant to last in a rapidly growing society. He has created timeless logos for huge corporations today which have only been tweaked but still have the main Bass touch.For example, Kleenex, At&T, Dixie and Quakers.
Bass overall changed the world of graphic design, using his Bauhaus aesthetic with flat colours and straight lines. He not only influenced the graphic designers in his time but is still challenging even the most experienced designers today. Bass has revolutionised the meaning of thoughtful design, and many designers still struggle to achieve work as iconic as his.