DESIGNICON
Mid Century in Motion
Spotlight on Saul Bass, the architect of mid mod cinema.
By Mark Mendez
WHILE MOSTLY KNOWN FOR HIS CINEMATIC CAREER, BASS ALSO DESIGNED SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST WELL-KNOWN CORPORATE LOGOS, SUCH AS CONTINEN-TAL AIRLINES, QUAKER OATS, THE GIRL SCOUTS, AT&T, WARNER BROS. AND GEFFEN RECORDS. PHOTO TAKEN MARCH 6, 1985, IN HIS OFFICE.
(PHOTO BY TONY BARNARD/LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES).
WIDELY CONSIDERED SAUL BASS’ MOST ICONIC POST-ER DESIGN FROM ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S 1958 PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER “VERTIGO,” STARRING JAMES STEWART AND KIM NOVAK.
(PHOTO BY MOVIE POSTER IMAGE ART/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM KEY ART TO TITLE SEQUENCES, American-born graphic artist and filmmaker Saul Bass is the godfather of motion design for cinema. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, in 1920, he was the son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. As a student, Bass began working with a Manhattan ad agency. His first jobs were designing movie posters for one of the agency’s biggest clients: Warner Bros. Studios. By the 1940s, Bass made the move to Hollywood and began designing print advertising for such films as “Champion,” “The Moon is Blue” and “Death of a Salesman,” all films by controversial director Otto Preminger. Preminger, known for his use of off-limit topics and taboos for his films, was highly impressed with Bass’ work. It was here that Bass was introduced to the process of filmmaking.