designer spotlight special
NORTH BY NORTHWEST • THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN
ARM • PSYCH • WESTSIDE STORY • THE SHINNING • CATCH
ME IF YOU CAN • ANATOMY OF A MURDER • EXODUS • STORM CENTER • IN HARMS WAY • LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON
SAINT JOAN • NORTH BY NORTHWEST • THE MAN WITH
NORTH
BY NORTHWEST •
GOLDEN ARM •
THE MAN WITH THE
PSYCH • WESTSIDE STORY •
SHINNING • CATCH ME IF YOU CAN • ANATOMY OF A MURDER • EXODUS
• STORM CENTER • IN HARMS WAY • LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON • Saul Bass started his design journey whist growing up in New York where he was amazed with the street tag lines and magazines of the 1920s and 1930s. Being inspired by the oldworld sensibilities of the Europeans, modern art, design and film. In 1944, Saul Bass attended Brooklyn College where he was mentored under Gyory Kepes, who was a Bauhaus and Russian Constructivism devotee. This influence over Bass was reflected with his work, Kepes focused Bass on the social responsibilities of a designer, and that he didn’t need to conform to social values. Bauhaus, Arts and Crafts and Russian Constructivism where not the only styles to shape Bass. The New Swiss style offered a way for him to embrace and revamp his ideas, allowing him to really shape his trademark style. Overtime, Bass turned away from the rigid rules he was taught and allowed his gut feelings, intuitions, emotions and humour to break barriers and embrace the idea to symbolise and summarise his communication style. Saul Bass understood design problems and was able to communicate complex ideas with simple visual forms, he understood the need to set the tone and often left a key to deeper undertones within these forms. His design signature is strongly 2
INSIDER
seen across his poster work, with his style aesthetic using a bare minimalistic base, showcasing strong primary colour splashes and typography that connected to viewers. He then went on to expand the boundaries of title sequences in film, using a signature kinetic type, cutout like objects and geometric lines and illustrations that moved across the screen. The impact Bass has had on the industry not only includes his techniques, process and style but also his curiosity and the true passion and commitment he had for his work.
THE
NORTH BY NORTHWEST • THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN
ARM • PSYCH • WESTSIDE STORY • THE SHINNING • CATCH
ME IF YOU CAN • ANATOMY OF
A MURDER • EXODUS • STORM
CENTER • IN HARMS WAY • LOVE
IN THE AFTERNOON • SAINT
JOAN • NORTH BY NORTHWEST
• THE MAN
3
DESIGN IS THINKING MADE VISUAL