Saul Bass

Considered to be one of the greatest graphic designers of the 20th Century, Saul Bass is one of my favourite designers of all time. I originally came across his work when I first became a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's classic psychological horror movies and saw his poster for the classic "The Birds" (1963) which still remains one of my favourites.

Saul Bass poster for "The Birds" (1963)

The poster (shown right) struck me with it's drastic use of negative silhouette of the feather against the harsh and striking fire engine red background. I feel this is a brilliant way of understating the work of Hitchcock by not giving too much away in terms of what the film is about as Bass could have gone the classic route of showcasing everything the film had to offer on the poster. Bass' way adds mystery and "suspense", which I'm sure Alfred himself loved.

From researching more into Bass I have discovered that he has also done advertisement designs for another legendary director Martin Scorcese as well as being an extremely successful freelance graphic designer.

I'm really drawn to the silhouette style of Bass' work and feel that this technique really creates a very eye catching and impactive piece of design. I am a huge, huge fan.

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