Saul Bass and Logo Design: Then and Now (2011)

Based on these - if you have a Saul Bass logo you can only go backwards if you release a new logo.

These logos are incredible, and so many of them have stood the test of time so well. The mind boggles at the ones that were "redesigned" by some other agency but are essentially the same. I can only imagine the hours that were billed and the meetings that were held debating why those few pixels of difference were significant.

Unrelated to the logos - the graphic design of the site itself is horrible. The dark gray tones make it look like a UI element in the "grayed out" disabled state. And the contrast between the background and the text is far too low.

The only improvement I see from Bass' design is United Way (gradients suck in the long run, though they were the bee's knees in 1972). If you cannot silk screen it easily onto a T shirt with spot colors, it's not a good logo.

Saul Bass also did some incredible movie titles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqM3McG4-LE

A great many experimented with his simple text and cutout animation, but I especially like the cinemagraphic ones in black and white -- (time index 29:26) -- Something Wild, Walk On The Wild Side

Imagine being that good of a designer.

Amazing, in almost every case where the logo was 'refreshed' it got worse.