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“Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every
picture is the frame.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), British, Author, Essayist
frame
21
frame \'fra
¬
m\ n
1: a closed, often rectangular border
of drawn or printed lines
In basic terms, a frame is
an enclosure to a visual
image. It is a fundamental
element of visual com-
munications and can be used to separate, organize, unify, contain,
and distinguish, as well as increase visibility and immediacy in any
visual message. Like an actual picture frame, it can take various
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th e la n guag e of gr ap hic d es i gn
(Text)
1955
The Man with the Golden Arm
Los Angeles, California, USA
Saul Bass (1920–1996) was a graphic
designer and Academy Award–winning
filmmaker who received global recognition
for his work in graphic, film, industrial, and
exhibition design but was best known for
his animated film-title sequences.
During his forty-year career, he
worked with some of Hollywood’s greatest
filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock,
Otto Preminger, Stanley Kubrick, and
Martin Scorsese. His work included the epi-
logue for Around the World in Eighty Days
(1956), his direction and editing of the rac-
ing sequences for Grand Prix (1966), the
shower sequence for Psycho (1960), and the
prologue for West Side Story (1961).
Among his most famous film-title se-
quences are the kinetic typography rac-
ing up and down a high-angle view of the
United Nations building façade in North by
Northwest (1959) and the disjointed typog-
raphy that raced together and then pulled
apart for Psycho. His later work for Martin
Scorsese allowed him to move away from
conventional optical techniques he had pio-
neered earlier and work with computerized
titles for films such as The Age of Innocence
(1993) and Casino (1995).
Bass was born in New York City and
studied at the Art Students League and then
at Brooklyn College with Gyorgy Kepes. He
initially began his time in Hollywood de-
signing print advertisements for the film
industry, until he collaborated with direc-
tor Otto Preminger on the design of the
poster for the film Carmen Jones (1954).
Preminger was so impressed with
Bass’s work, Bass was asked to produce
the title sequence for the film as well. This
was Bass’s first opportunity to design more
than a conventional title sequence and to
create something that would ultimately
Characteristics and Functions
As a compositional element, a frame can
have a variety of visual characteristics and
functions. It can appear simple or decorative,
subtle or obvious, flat or modeled. It can be
a container for another element as well as
act as a transition element from active com-
positional space to passive compositional
space. Its presence in a composition can be
subtle, thereby becoming more integrated
to its visual content, or it can have extreme
graphic presence, ultimately setting content
apart in a composition.
(continued on page 212)
graphic forms and can be found virtually
everywhere. In the familiar world, a frame can
set off a work of art from the wall on which
it is being displayed and simultaneously
bring visual attention to it. In the broadest
definition of the word, a frame can be many
things and have many functions. It can be a
proscenium stage for a theatrical event, an
exhibition vitrine for displaying an artifact,
or an architectural molding surrounding an
entrance door. Frames can be obvious or
implied. They can be realized as a border to
a page or as an inset solid surface within a
page composition.
C+G Partners LLC
New York, New York, USA
Louise FiLi Ltd.
New York, New York, USA
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