Saul Bass tattoo

Saul Bass's The Man with the Golden Arm – an arm on an arm

I met a friend of a friend one recent evening and he showed me the tattoo on his arm. He's had it four years and I was the second person to ever recognise what it was – obviously, Saul Bass's symbol for the film The Man with the Golden Arm, starring Frank Sinatra. Saul Bass also designed the poster and the title sequence. The tattoo is quite possibly one of the best things I've ever seen. The man with the tattoo was an ex-graphic designer, and retired from design in his late forties to retrain as a nurse. He was doubly inspiring – the Saul Bass tattoo, the meaningful life after graphic design.

Previously on Barnflakes:
Don't become a graphic designer
Saul Bass book finally out
Random Film Review: Phase IV
Top 10 graphic designers