63 Quotes by Saul Bass

My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way.

In the course of our daily lives, we're bombarded with a barrage of visual messages, some blatantly aggressive, some subtle. The trick is to find a way to break through without adding to the clutter and the ugliness. We have to be responsible about that.

Trademarks are usually metaphors of one kind or another. And are, in a certain sense, thinking made visible.

The goal, and the ultimate achievement, is to make people feel as well as think.

I began as a graphic designer. As part of my work, I created film symbols for ad campaigns. I happened to be working on the symbols for Otto Preminger's 'Carmen Jones' and 'The Man With The Golden Arm' and at some point, Otto and I just looked at each other and said, 'Why not make it move?' It was as simple as that.

We are truly bombarded by images. To break through and be observed, let alone focused on, you have to have impact and power.

When I provided the disembodied arm as the logo for 'The Man With the Golden Arm,' it was the first time an advertising-publicity campaign was based on a single symbol. Until then film companies used a variety of symbols and photographs to cover all bets. The concept of using one logo was mine and Otto Preminger's.

In 'Age of Innocence,' the opening flowers, that's a metaphor for the film, the Victorian veneer with the malevolence beneath it. We attempted to show that with flowers that start as sweet and then slowly become malevolent.

All fliers have some concern about flying. Some handle it by 'flying' the plane. They're 'raising' the wheels, 'making' the turns and so on. Others handle it by tuning out... reading a book or watching a movie.