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“Design is thinking made visual.�
SAUL SAUL BASS BASS H
e might be the single most accomplished graphic designer in history. Working in the mid 20th century, when the importance of graphic design was just on the upswing, Bass branded a staggering array of major corporations with his iconic, minimal designs. Bell, Kleenex, AT&T? All Bass. For about 50 years, if you were looking for a clean, thoughtful design that was made to last, this was the man you called. Logo design is not all Bass is known for. In fact, logos form the lesser part of Bass’ artistic legacy. Read on for a look at one of the most illustrious graphic design careers to date. Bass was born in 1920 in New York City, to Jewish immigrants. A creative child, he drew constantly. For college, he attended night classes at the Art Students League where he had the fortune of studying under GyÜrgy Kepes, a master of the functional Bauhaus aesthetic.
STORY In the 1940s, Bass left New York for California. He worked mostly for advertising until his first major break: a poster for the 1954 film, Carmen Jones. The filmmakers were so impressed by his poster work, they invited him to design the title credits as well. This turned out to be a game changing decision. Bass stepped up the sophistication of movie posters with his distinctive minimal style and he completely revolutionized the role of title credits in films. Traditionally, credits were static and drab. They were considered so unimportant, they would actually be projected onto the closed curtains which would only open for the first official scene of the movie. Bass, however, was committed to injecting life into these graphics, making them as much a part of the cinematic experience as anything else. Introducing his signature “kinetic type,” Bass’ letters dashed and moved across the screen and frequently incorporated images other than text.
Titles became a spectacle to be seen. Film reels with Bass credits were delivered to each of the movie theaters along with a note: “projectionist – pull curtain before titles.” Bass went on to create dozens of iconic film posters and title credits. His final projects before his death in 1996 were credits for four Martin Scorsese films: GOODFELLAS (1990), CAPE FEAR (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993) and CASINO (1995).
TYPE TIPS
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ED BENGUIA D BENGU
HEROES
A man of letters
E
d Benguiat is an American typographer. He has crafted over 600 typefaces including Tiffany, Bookman, Panache, Edwardian Script, and the self-titled typefaces Benguiat and Benguiat Gothic. He is also known for his designs or redesigns of the logotypes for Esquire, The New York Times, Coke, McCall’s, Ford, Reader’s Digest, Photography, Look, Sports Illustrated, The Star Ledger, The San Diego Tribune, AT&T, A&E, Estee Lauder, ... the list goes on and on. You name it, he’s done it. Other notable examples of Benguiat’s work are the logotypes for Playboy, the original Planet of the Apes film, and Super Fly. Benguiat grew up in Brooklyn, NY. He was once a very prominent jazz percussionist playing in several big bands with the likes of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman. In an interview Benguait stated this of his chosen career as a designer: “I’m really a musician, a jazz percussionist. One day I went to the musician’s union to pay dues and I saw all these old people who were playing bar mitzvahs and Greek weddings. It occurred to me that one day that’s going to be me, so I decided to become an illustrator.”
“I do not think of type as something that should be readable. It should be beautiful.�
HEROES
2007 1983 1981 5 7 9 1
1982
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1980