In this piece of research I will explore Saul Bass technique in graphic design. I will write about colours, shapes, forms and style.
Apart of his famous work for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 film Vertigo, Saul Bass produced designs of Hollywood’s most iconic films of the 1950s and 1960s by Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder and Martin Scorsese.
As Bass was very professional and skilled, he stared creating branding and logos for world-wide known brands such as for Bell Telephone, the AT&T Corporation, United Airlines, General Foods, Hanna-Barbera, Continental Airlines, Kleenex and Quaker (Oats Hooper, M. 2023).
"Saul Bass was undoubtedly the greatest title sequence maker. Brilliant – just brilliant" - Quentin Tarantino.
The technique which Bass used is called lithography. Lithography process stands for a printing using water and oil mixtures which don't mix. The metal surface allows to press an ink picture on the top. The use of simple, geometric shapes and symbolism; usually he used one image or shape to express the power of the picture. All designs and texts were hand-drawn by Saul.
"The printing surface is kept wet, so that a roller charged with oil-based ink can be rolled over the surface, and ink will only stick to the grease-receptive image area. Paper is then placed against the surface and the plate is run through a press" (Tate, Accessed: 26 January 2024).
As the theme of my project is Pop-Art and design from 60s-70s, I have got inspiration by Saul Bass and his graphic design style. I will use this technique of lithography in my project using the Fine Art print. I will try to combine this with digital work also using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.
REFERENCES
Hooper, M. (2023) The deadly design of Saul Bass’s ‘vertigo’, Sothebys.com. Available at: https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-deadly-design-of-saul-basss-vertigo (Accessed: 26 January 2024).
Tate (no date) Lithography, Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/l/lithography (Accessed: 26 January 2024).
