Saul Bass By Jake Eiserman
Not many get to travel the path of innovation, but those who do go down in history; Saul Bass was one of those people. He led a graphic revolution within the film industry that changed movie posters and movie introduction sequences alike. He also went on to design iconic logos for some of the most renowned companies in the US.
Portrait of Bass
New York City, 1950
Born in the Bronx, NYC in 1920, he showed artistic promise in his early life. He would go on to study both at Brooklyn College and within the Art Students League. During his studies, he grew to admire the works of Gyorgy Kepes and the growing popularity of Russian Constructivist typography and Bauhaus design.
Portrait of Otto Premin
Bass began what would become a 40 year career doing freelance work in the New York City area. In 1938, he began work at a small design firm that produced trade advertisements for companies such as United Artists and Warner Brothers. After marriage, he landed a job at 20th Century-Fox as a layout man, but ended up quitting two years later due to limited creative freedom. In 1946, he moved down to Los Angeles, California. After about 10 more years of working as a commercial artist, he got his first “Big Gig.” Sought out by Director Otto Preminger, he was commissioned to design the title sequence of “Carmen Jones.”
“Carmen Jones� original movie poster, 1954
nger
Bass succeeded at turning title sequences into entertaining displays of personality that would set a mood for the rest of the show. Its no surprise that he was offered many other title designing jobs. After a couple other contracts, he was employed by Preminger once more for a sequence that would echo throughout his career: “The Man with the Golden Arm.” The title sequences of the 1955 film stunned both fans and critics. With his previous works stacked on top of this one, you can clearly see a defined “hand-cut” style. Which would continue throughout his entire career.
“The man with the Golden Arm� original movie poster, 1955
Preminger would continue to Employ Bass’ talent in every one of his films up to his “Bunny Lake Is Missing”(1965). Bass created posters and sequences for films such as “Saint Joan”(1957), “Bonjour Tristesse” (1958), “Anatomy of a Murder”(1959), and “Exodus”(1960). His unmistatable style gave these films a personality that could be understood without watching the film.
“Saint Joan� original movie poster, 1957
“Exodus” original movie poster, 1960
“Anatomy of a Murder” original movie poster, 1959
“Bonjour Tristesse” original movie poster, 1958
“Vertigo� original movie poster, 1958
Bass made his way around Hollywood working for multiple directors, such as Alfred Hitchcock and Stanely Kubrick. He was able to extend his style of design to soon-to-be-classic movies such as “Vertigo”(1958), “Psycho”(1960), “Spartacus”(1960), and “The Shining”(1980). In the Hitchcock film “Psycho”, it is often told that Bass himself directed the infamous shower-killing scene.
Original posters for “Psycho”(1960) and “The Shining”(1980)
Portrait of Bass, Logos for AT&T, United Airlines, and Continental Airlines all designed by Bass
In his later years, he designed logos for some of the most well known companies today. Bass died in April, 1996, but he left a legacy that cannot possibly be ignored. He pioneered the idea that a simple shuffling of credits could be much more, that they could speak a personality of their own. Not many get to travel the path of innovation, but those who do go down in history; Saul Bass was one of those people
Horak, Jan-Christopher. Saul Bass, Anatomy of Film Design. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 2014. Print. “Saul Bass.” Art Directory. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.basssaul.com/>. “Saul Bass.” Art of the Title. LLC, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.artofthetitle.com/designer/saulbass/>. “Saul Bass.” Graphic Design Archive Online. RIT Libraries, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://library.rit.edu/ gda/designer/saul-bass>.