The Thousands

Christmas morning, my mom yelled into the kitchen, “Who’s Saul Bass?’ I fumbled a response, followed by an envious, “Did you get Dad a book on Saul Bass?”

The reason I had a hard time explaining who Saul Bass is would be the same reason why my mom would buy a book about a guy she knew nothing about for another guy (my dad) who knew nothing about him. Simply calling Bass “a graphic designer” sells short his involvement in so many amazing images, both static and moving, of the 20th century.

Saul Bass: A Life In Film & Design is surprisingly the first book on Bass. A coffee table tome of substantial size, it includes a jizillion images of his lesser-known works alongside his unforgettable images; poster art for The Shining; promotional art and title sequences for Vertigo, The Man With The Golden Arm, the original Ocean’s Eleven, the remake of Cape Fear and It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, and logos for United Airlines, Warner Communications, and Girl Scouts, among many, many more.

You will want to live in this book. Saul’s designs are warm, familiar and timeless. It’s a testament to his mass appeal that three people as diverse as my mom, my dad and me would all geek out over him.