I Heart Saul Bass

A picture is worth a thousand words. And Saul Bass’ film posters and opening sequence designs have always managed to evoke the narrative of the movies he created them for. His body of work is the stuff of legendary images that have surrounded us for decades.


Growing up, I used to watch a lot of old films courtesy of the neighborhood video store, aptly called “Oldies But Goodies”. Of course at the time, I had no concept of bootlegging whatsoever and so at least once a week, in broad daylight I’d go there and check out home-dubbed VHS tapes (before this, I was also renting betamax tapes, but that’s another story).

I looked forward to these movies. When I say this I mean the whole experience of watching a movie. I wasn’t running to the bathroom when the opening sequence played, nor was I discarding popcorn kernels when the ending credits rolled. I would sit there absolutely riveted.


Saul Bass’ film posters were not only avant garde for his generation, but to this day, they still mesmerize me. Unlike mug shots of million dollar celebrities in the world of key art, they always had a key message instead. They had heart and soul.

Nowadays, while I judge these things with a trained creative’s eye, and sometimes admittedly with some pretentious snootiness, the young girl in me just really wants to be moved and amused, regardless of composition, color theory or hidden meanings.