Logos are so common in our lifes that we usually forget they are little pieces of history of modern art. Today I want to pay tribute to Mr. Saul Bass, one of the most important corporate logo designers in history. However, not only did he design corporate brand identities, he is also a legend for his works for some of Hollywood’s most famous directors, as Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Billy Wilder and Stanley Kubrick.
Design is thinking made visible. Saul Bass
Bass is worldwide known for his title sequences: he worked for Preminger’s The Man with the Golden Arm, he also created the disjointed text in Psycho and the credits racing up and down turning into an skyscraper in North by Northwest. All of them are masterpieces of the history of design.
Saul’s style was a marvelous mixture of iconic, simplified and symbolic designs that visually communicated key essential elements of the companies
Bass was the king of corporate logo designers, creating some of the most iconic brand identities in North America, such as the AT&T’s globe logo, Bell System logo, Alcoa, Minolta, Quaker… He was specially good at airline logo design. Continental Airlines logo and United Airlines brand identity design where two of the best logos he ever dessigned. The last one, designed in 1974 became the most recognized airline brand identity design during the 70s and 80s. At the en of his career, Saul Bass moved to japan where he created some unforgetable corporate logos for Japanese companies.
Saul’s style was a marvelous mixture of iconic, simplified and symbolic logo designs that visually communicated key essential elements of the companies. He defined design as “thinking made visible”. That’s the best definition of design I’ve ever listened to. Thanks Mr. Bass.
