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19 Comments

  1. “I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.” Well said.

    • Yes, very well said. I feel the same way –

  2. Advice from respected and talented Commercial photographer Dave Lauridsen recently “Do good work”. How hard are you working when no ones watching or when the budget didn’t meet your expectation?
    Cheers
    NM

  3. Reminds me of one of my favorite sayings: To make great work you have to have higher standards than your clients.

  4. I recall my first introduction to Saul Bass…he designed the film titles for the 1959 film, “Anatomy of a Murder,” and won an Academy Award–as did the film, in several categories..I also think he did the titles for “Man with a Golden Arm,” with Frank Sinatra, circa same time period…Great talent!
    Thanks for this most informative and useful video/interview…Heed his words!

  5. I visited Saul Bass in his office in LA a long time ago when I was a student at Brooks Institute. He was gracious. He showed my class around and explained what a graphic designer does and what problems one solves for business. At a pregnant pause, a student jokingly asked what purpose the pinwheel on Mr. Bass’ desk served. He said, “Oh this?” as he picked up the pinwheel, “This is for this” as he waved it around the room going “whee, whee, whee!”

    • Classic! I can picture this perfectly in my mind’s eye.

  6. I like the one thought, get the work done, solve the problem of doing it well instead of wasting time. I think the great photographers in my mind solved their problems quickly and got the work done quickly without sacrificing their standards. This goes along with the post about I’m done creating content for free.

  7. What great advice from a design legend.

  8. You need to take pride in how you do your job; not always in what that job is.
    Well said Saul Bass!
    Sometimes I’ve spent 3x (or more)the time I’ve billed for on designs.

  9. People will always look for the next new thing. Today it’s content; yesterday, it was social media

  10. This is great!

    I spent a day with Saul Bass in the mid nineties shooting him for a publication. It was just him, his assistant somewhere in the studio, the art director and myself. He was so sharing and kind and while quite frail, was very patient with me.

    He was cutting the titles for Scorsese’s “Casino” at the time and talked a lot about “Marty” and showed us some wool booties that Scorsese’s mother had knitted for Saul’s grandchild.

    Thanks for this link, it brings back some really good memories.

  11. What a great piece of advice. I still have a quote my dad had above his desk. “It’s Not How Much, But How” More important these days than ever!

  12. […] century’s version of a paper notebook and pencil. I can’t help but connect Jobs with a video I just watched this week of Saul Bass, where he states, “I want to make beautiful things, […]

  13. […] can’t help but connect Jobs with a video I just watched this week of Saul Bass, where he states, “I want to make beautiful things, […]


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