Saul Bass

Saul Bass: The Game Changer Vicente Mendez | Saul bass: The Game Changer Designers are always influential to the world in their works. Saul Bass was one designer who stood out. He took his talents to their limits and redefined design with his works. Not only was he a great graphic designer, but the reigning master of film title design. He changed and redefined the art of graphic design. Saul had many innovations, breakthroughs and discoveries, and theories and philosophies. Movies often have strong messages to send or certain things that they want the audience to catch.
Saul reinvented the film posters and picture title sequences and did it in ways that intrigued and redefined what it meant to be a graphic designer (Thatcher). His innovation and creativity brought him his fame and superiority in the design industry. The Man With the Golden Arm was the movie that brought him recognition when he designed the film poster and title sequence to depict the arm of a heroin addicts arm which was the message of the film (Thatcher). In the mid 50’s heroin was a taboo subject and the movie depicted a jazz musician who works to overcome his heroin addiction.
Just as Saul wanted, the iconic arm got people talking and gave the movie some recognition as well as Saul Bass. Bass was an inventor and provided effect, memorable titles sequences, inventing a new type of kinetic typography (Thatcher). He brought many new ideas to life; his innovations were his key to success and recognizable as a revered designer. Saul redefined what it meant to be a graphic designer for movies. His works for movie titles and sequences changed how many perceived the title screens to be (Brown).

The point of a title sequence and film posters are to catch the audience’s attention, but keep it simple so it is easier to understand. Must also allow the audience to have their own interpretation too, it will bring more attention and light to the film (Brown). When the audience themselves have an emotional connection, it will more than likely that they will come and see the movie. Saul’s breakthrough with the movie The Man With The Golden Arm brought the movie success because he kept the imagery of the film poster simple, yet will conveyed a strong enough message to get the audience riled up about the nature of the movie.
The way a designer looks at life, can be seen through their work. Saul believed in the philosophy “try to reach for a simple, visual phrase that tells you what the picture is all about and evokes the essence of the story,” which can be seen in his film logo for The Man with the Golden Arm (Thatcher). Other works like the AT&T logo are examples of his simplicity yet it captures the minds of those who see the designs. Another philosophy of his was to make the ordinary extraordinary (Thatcher).
Saul wanted the audience to see the simplexes in his work, yet see it in an complex way that they may not completely understand but they will still be mesmerized by it. Saul’s designs really influenced many people, and many other designers influenced him. The audience can always be sure that when Bass designed something, there was always a message behind the design. He really influenced the film industry and Hollywood changed forever with their designs. His works also influenced other designers to start seeing graphic designing in a whole new light.
The time period that Saul Bass was a designer really had a lot of influence on his work. He worked during the time of the Civil Rights Movements, which really helped influence his work and his effort in really bringing motion picture to life. Saul Bass was an innovator, an amazing graphic artist of his time and stood out in what he did. His breakthroughs led the film industries into a new better direction when it came to film posters and title sequence design. His philosophies influenced many other designers and can be seen through his works as well as his lifestyle.
He influenced other designers and really changed the way people see motion film. His artistic abilities combined with his unique style really drove motion picture and made it a big name in film industries especially with catching the audience’s attention. Works Cited Thatcher, Lisa. “Saul Bass: The Film Posters You Know Better than AnyA other. ” Lisa Thatcher. N. p. , 16 Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. <http://lisathatcher. wordpress. com/2012/02/16/saul-bass/>. Brown, D. (1982). Aiga. Retrieved from http://www. aiga. org/medalist-saulbass/