Saul Bass or how to 'wow' the audience with movie title sequences

Hey there, how did your month go? I hope it went very well!

I’m back with another set of inspirational snippets, this time we’ll see the work of a graphic designer, a travel poster with map vibes, an ad I’ve seen since I was a kid, a pocket calendar, a short about good manners and a beautiful album cover.

Ready? 3, 2, 1, Action!

✧A graphic designer: Saul Bass✧

Saul Bass - Anatomy of a Murder

If you come from the design area or you like movies, he probably needs no introduction to you, but I’ve just recently found some pictures I took a while ago at a Stanley Kubrick exhibition, and thought that it would be nice to share some of Saul Bass’ work.

Saul BASS

Saul Bass (1920-1996) was an American graphic designer and filmmaker best known for his design of title sequences, film posters and logos.

With distinctive abstract style and a strong sense of composition, he started introducing motion to movie title sequences that had until then, been still and mostly ignored by the public.

Below, you can find some of his energetic and powerful sequence titles:

While the picture above is not mine, I had the chance to see these live at the exhibit, they are very small and are made using the pointillism technique. You can also see Kubrick’s notes, which is super cool but maybe also a little exasperating for Bass? :P

✧A travel poster: En route pour la Suisse✧

Aloïs CARIGIET - 1957 - En Route Pour La Suisse

✧An ad: Raky✧

FALGAS - 1959 - RAKY

I remember this one being framed on one of my favorite restaurants when I was a kid. Wonder if it's still there… (EDIT: I wrote this a few weeks ago and I have recently checked and it’s still hanging there!)

✧A pocket calendar✧

1969 - Szövetkezeti Cukrászdák

✧A short: Don't Be Rude✧

1959-1964 - Don't be Rude / Use your Head

✧An album cover: Roman Guitar✧

Paul BACON - 1960 - Roman Guitar, Tony Mottola And His Orchestra

Sooo, once again, we’ve reached the end of the newsletter, if you’d like to dive deeper into Saul Bass’ work, below you can find some interesting videos and a couple more title sequences. Which one is your favourite?

✧ The links ✧

✦ Saul Bass, Style is substance - Youtube
✦ How Saul Bass Created The Art Of Movie Title Design - Youtube
✦ Saul Bass's Movie Posters - Youtube
✦ Saul Bass' Man with a Golden Arm, 1955 - Youtube
✦ Saul Bass' The Seven Year Itch - Youtube
✦ Saul Bass' Anatomy of a Murder, 1959 - Youtube
✦ Saul Bass and Stanley Kubrick - Typeroom