Saul Bass was a graphic designer known for his minimalist title sequences featuring simple geometric shapes and lines that set moods and conveyed stories visually. Some of his most famous title sequences were for films like Vertigo, North by Northwest, and The Man with the Golden Arm. The Vertigo title sequence begins with ominous music and close-up shots of a woman's face showing anxiety, establishing tension. It then uses spirals that symbolize madness and instability, suggesting her mental state and setting up mystery for viewers as the credits are displayed over disorienting, overlapping spirals. It ends by revisiting her anxious eye, implying she is being watched.

2. SAUL BASS WAS A GRAPHIC DESIGNER...
His typography consists of simple,
geometric shapes that carry heavy
symbolism. His style was basic and
casual and he revolutionized title
sequences.
He also designed logos (Continental
Airlines, Frontier Airlines) and film
posters, not just animate and direct
opening title sequences.
Horizontal and vertical lines were used
often in his work.
His work has the uncanny ability to capture
the mood of a view and give a short
visual metaphor, or story, that would
intrigue the audience.
He worked with directors like Alfred
Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese and Otto
Preminger.
Popular title sequences of Bass include
“The Man with the Golden Arm”,
“Vertigo” and “North By Northwest”

3. “VERTIGO” TITLE SEQUENCE ANALYSIS”
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/vertigo/
The title sequence begins with a bold, ominous soundtrack: the
strong, low tones immediately create a sense of dread and fear for the
audience. Following this are several different close up shots of a
woman’s face, possibly already introducing a character of the film.
Her eyes look from one direction to the next, connoting anxiety and
nerves. An extreme close up shot of one eye widening and showing
fright suggests the genre of the film (horror or thriller?) and creates a
tone and atmosphere of fear for the audience. The screen then goes
red, which carries connotations of danger, blood and love, but, as the
font is bold and white, also helps the name of the film stand out.

4. The majority of the sequence is made up of
Bass’ famous geographic shapes but
instead of lines, spirals were used.
These connote madness and instability
and, as we know that Bass’ title
sequences usually offer an insight to the
mood or narrative of the film, could be
suggesting the immediate or eventual
state of her mind as the first spiral is
seen in the woman’s eye, setting up an
enigma for the audience. These spirals
change colour and disorient the
audience, linking in with the name of the
film as the main symptom of vertigo is
dizziness. The spirals are also hypnotic
and, towards the end of the sequence,
begin to overlap each other, giving the
audience a feel of disorder and possibly
chaos. The pace of the sequence is
relatively slow, but this creates tension
and confusion for the audience. During
this time, the opening credits are on
screen and are written in a blank, white
text.

5. The last shot of the sequence reverts back to the close up of the
female’s eye, where it continues to look around and suggest
that somebody is being watched as well as anxiety and fear.