Saul Bass was born May 8th, 1920 in New York. He is most known for his graphic design work and his work as a filmmaker. He created new and imaginative film title sequences that were fresh expressive to audiences (Brittannica,2021). 

His career started with him drawing as a child and then at the Art Students League in New York. He then went on to Brooklyn College where he studied under George Kepes a well-known designer. After his education, he continued to work in graphic design, specifically in advertising. He slowly began to integrate his work into Hollywood by designing posters for upcoming movies. His most notable piece was the poster he designed for Carmen Jones. The director was so taken back by his work he immediately asked him to design the opening credits for the film. This was the first instance of him designing credits that would become his signature. He received his big break with The Man with the Golden Arm when he animated the opening sequence that secured his reputation and launched his career. He worked alongside many famous filmmakers notably Alfred Hichocks films, he designed almost all of the titles for those films (Brittanica,2021).

His style is characterized by his use of simple geometric shapes. He utilized a lot of symbolism in his work as well. His work was often hand-rendered, there were hand-cut and drawn elements that contributed to his style (Miller, 2019). This hand-cut quality is shown in his piece Anatomy of a Murder.

His filmmaking career was equally successful he received an academy award for best documentary (short subject) in 1969 for his film Why Man Creates. He also received around 8+ awards and nominations for his fieldwork (IMDb).  

Works cited:

Bauer, Patricia. “Saul Bass”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saul-Bass. Accessed 1 February 2022.Copy Citation

IMDb. 2022. Saul Bass – IMDb. [online] Available at: <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000866/awards> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

Miller, E., 2022. Saul Bass: Graphic Designer Profile. [online] Lifewire. Available at: <https://www.lifewire.com/profile-of-graphic-designer-saul-bass-1697483#:~:text=Saul%20Bass’%20Style,packed%20with%20a%20sophisticated%20message.> [Accessed 1 February 2022].

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