Not Saul but Elaine Bass

On Elaine & Saul Bass

When it comes to the design education curriculum here in Singapore, I think in part, it has failed us by not teaching more about prolific women like Elaine Bass, among many others.

It is one of my regrets, as a practicing designer today, that I have not been taught or learned about her sooner. Elaine’s career as a designer was overshadowed by her husband, whose name we respect and hold in high regard still, 65 years after his groundbreaking title design work for Otto Preminger’s ‘Anatomy of a Murder (1959). In my associate’s Design Fundamentals class, I sat through a viewing of Saul Bass’ works, lauding his vision and the weight it carried in the design industry.

Photo Credit: Art of The Title

Design is a love affair

Not until years later, and I regret that it’s not common knowledge enough, I learned that much of Saul Bass’ design portfolio—Carmen Jones, Vertigo, and The Age of Innocence, to name a few—was made in close collaboration with Elaine, who before he married, hired as his graphic and title design assistant at his practice. This has in turn left much of Elaine’s contributions, perspectives, and much-deserved praise, uncredited.

Diving deeper into the relationship between Elaine and Saul taught me far more about design as a practice; it highlights a love story etched in art and design and the magic born out of a burning passion between collaborators. Elaine’s love for Saul persevered even through his passing in 1996—the year I was born.

It is an act of undying love which I often quote and romanticize about; Elaine returned to business after her husband’s passing to collaborate with her contemporary, Pablo Ferro, for the remake of Saul’s ‘Psycho’ (1960) title design. It is understood that her collaboration with Ferro in 1998 was not merely to update her husband’s original vision but also to protect it.

Photo Credit: Art of The Title

The phrase “Behind every great man is a strong woman” has no clear history or record of its first citation, but I romanticize and believe that it was born from a time the world understood the magic of Elaine and Saul.

Yes, the design industry owes a great debt to the vision of Saul Bass, but we must not forget that his vision, too, belonged and wouldn't have existed without his creative muse and better half, Elaine.