Saul Bass

Saul Bass

Saul Bass was one of the great graphic designers of the 20th century and an integral part of the history of film design. Best known for his work on title sequences for Hollywood names like Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Otto Preminger, Bass created work that would redefine what had come before it. Born in the Bronx in New York in 1920, Saul began drawing as a child. He attended James Monroe High School and, upon graduating, won a scholarship in 1936 to study at the Art Students’ League in Manhattan. At the same time, he took night classes at Brooklyn College under Gyorgy Kepes. Here, Kepes introduced Bass to Bauhaus style, as well as Russian Constructivism, which would help shape Bass’ own style. Bass also worked in the New York Warner Bros. offices as an assistant during this time. After graduating, Bass worked as an apprentice for a few Manhattan design firms, before becoming a freelance designer. Feeling inhibited creatively in New York, Bass moved to Los Angeles in 1946, where he would get his start in cinematic work.(Brown) Following his freelance work, Bass opened his own studio, primarily working in advertising, in 1950. Around this time, Otto Preminger came to him, asking him to design the poster for his film, Carmen Jones. Preminger was so happy with the outcome, that he asked Bass to create the movie’s titles as well. This title sequence brought him a few commissions for other films, but it was Preminger’s next movie, The Man With the Golden Arm, that would solidify Saul’s place in film title design. (“Saul Bass.” Design) Before The Man With the Golden Arm came to theatres in 1955, movie titles were so dull that projectionists in theatres would not pull the curtains on a film until after the

title credits had ended. With the reels of film for this Preminger movie, also came a letter to the projectionists, telling them to pull the curtains before the titles. Preminger wanted to work with Bass to create something that, instead of...