1920–1996

Education: Art Students League; New York; Brooklyn College

Selected honors: Medal of the AIGA; New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame; honors from the city of Tokyo for contributions to Japanese design

Teaching: School of Visual Arts, New York

Few designers have been either as versatile or prolific as Saul Bass. Moving to Los Angeles from New York in 1946, Mr. Bass proceeded to revolutionize film advertising with his bold, symbolic graphics. He went on to apply his talents to film title sequences, using both animation and live action to pull the audience into the story. As a special-sequence director he was responsible for such unforgettable film moments as the shower sequence in Psycho, the race sequence in Grand Prix, and the battle sequence in Spartacus. Mr. Bass also directed his own films, one of which, Why Man Creates, won the 1969 Academy Award for Best Short Subject.

Saul Bass’s impact on graphic design was equally significant. His work appeared virtually everywhere: trademarks, packaging, posters, brochures, and identity systems were all part of his vast flow of utterly memorable work. Mr. Bass’s work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; the Prague Museum; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.