# Art Deco

> The glamorous modern style named after the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, which disciplined ornament into geometry: sunbursts, chevrons, stepped forms and sleek stylised figures rendered in lacquer-smooth colour with metallic accents. In Cassandre's and Colin's posters, fashion magazines, cinemas and luxury packaging it spoke of speed, travel, jazz and wealth.

- Period: 1910–1939
- Where: Western Europe, North America, Global / networked
- Origin: Paris, France; spreading to New York, London, Shanghai, Mumbai and beyond
- Branch: Pictorial & machine age
- Also known as: Style Moderne, Art Déco, Jazz Age Modern
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-deco/

## How it works

- Geometrise ornament: turn flowers, fountains and rays into sunbursts, chevrons, zigzags and stepped forms.
- Compose on a strong central axis, often with a dramatic low viewpoint and converging lines.
- Simplify figures and machines into sleek, elongated silhouettes with polished, airbrushed gradation.
- Set display type in geometric or inline capitals, widely spaced and monumental.
- Use black, cream and metallic gold or silver with a few jewel or lacquer accents.
- Make the product or destination a heroic icon: ocean liner, locomotive, skyscraper, perfume bottle.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (defining)
- [Radial & concentric](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/radial-and-concentric/) (characteristic)
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Diagonal axis](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/diagonal-axis/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (characteristic)
- [Illusion of depth](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/illusion-of-depth/) (characteristic)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (characteristic)
- [Repetition & rhythm](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/repetition-and-rhythm/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Geometric sans](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-sans/) (defining)
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (characteristic)
- [Ornamented display](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornamented-display/) (characteristic)
- [Wide letterspacing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/wide-letterspacing/) (characteristic)

### Colour
- [Jewel & metallic](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/jewel-and-metallic/) (defining)
- [Dark ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dark-ground/) (characteristic)
- [Gradients](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/gradients/) (characteristic)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (characteristic)

### Form & shape
- [Angular & zigzag](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/angular-and-zigzag/) (defining)
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (defining)
- [Geometric primitives](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-primitives/) (characteristic)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)
- [Gloss & highlights](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/gloss-and-highlights/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Rules & bars](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rules-and-bars/) (characteristic)
- [Cosmic & celestial](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/cosmic-and-celestial/) (characteristic)
- [Geometric tessellation](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/geometric-tessellation/) (characteristic)

### Imagery
- [Flat vector illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-vector-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (characteristic)
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Lithography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/lithography/) (characteristic)
- [Architecture & signage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/architecture-and-signage/) (characteristic)
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Luxurious & glamorous](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/luxurious-and-glamorous/) (defining)
- [Technological & futurist](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/technological-and-futurist/) (characteristic)
- [Romantic & sensual](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/romantic-and-sensual/) (occasional)

Avoids: Whiplash line, Collage & layering, Photocopy & distress, Experimental & distorted, Lowercase only, Rebellious & subversive

Palette: #111111, #c9a227, #f1e6cf, #0f5c55, #8c1c26, #b8bec4

Typefaces: Broadway (Morris Fuller Benton, ATF), Bifur (A. M. Cassandre, 1929), Peignot (A. M. Cassandre, 1937), Futura Display and Kabel

Known for: A. M. Cassandre (Étoile du Nord, 1927; Normandie, 1935); Paul Colin (La Revue Nègre, 1925); Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (Paris, 1925); Georges Lepape & George Barbier (Gazette du Bon Ton, 1912–25); Erté (Harper's Bazar covers); Charles Loupot & Jean Carlu

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Vienna Secession](https://stylogeny.com/styles/vienna-secession.md) (1897–1918)
- Influenced by: [Cubist Pictorial Space](https://stylogeny.com/styles/cubism.md) (1907–1925)
- Influenced by: [Italian Futurism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/futurism.md) (1909–1944)
- Influenced by: [Plakatstil / Sachplakat](https://stylogeny.com/styles/plakatstil.md) (1905–1920)
- Led to: [Harlem Renaissance Graphic Art](https://stylogeny.com/styles/harlem-renaissance-graphics.md) (1925–1940)
- Led to: [Australian Travel Poster (ANTA Era)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/australian-travel-poster.md) (1929–1959)
- Led to: [Streamline Moderne](https://stylogeny.com/styles/streamline-moderne.md) (1930–1945)
- Led to: [Estado Novo Folk Modernism (SPN)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/estado-novo-folk-modernism.md) (1933–1949)
- Led to: [WPA Silkscreen Posters](https://stylogeny.com/styles/wpa-poster.md) (1935–1943)
- Led to: [Spanish Civil War Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/spanish-civil-war-poster.md) (1936–1939)
- Led to: [French Post-War Visual-Gag Poster (Savignac, Villemot, Morvan)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/french-gag-poster.md) (1948–1979)
- Alike in its design choices: [Synthwave / Outrun](https://stylogeny.com/styles/synthwave-outrun.md) (2006–present), 57% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Shanghai Modern & Yuefenpai](https://stylogeny.com/styles/shanghai-modern.md) (1910–1949), 51% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Neo-Andean Architecture (Cholets)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/neo-andean-cholet.md) (2005–present), 51% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [London Transport Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/london-transport-design.md) (1908–1966), 49% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Illustrated Rom-Com Book Cover (Cartoon Couple Cover)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/illustrated-romcom-cover.md) (2016–present), 47% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Socialist Realist Propaganda Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/socialist-realism.md) (1932–1989), 46% alike

## Real works

- [Paris 1925: Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (official poster)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O175840/): Robert Bonfils, 1925, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.1200-1925)
- [La danseuse aux jets d'eau (robe de danse, de Worth), plate 61 from Gazette du Bon Ton, 1925, no. 8](https://collections.mfa.org/objects/450975): George Barbier, 1925, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2004.236.2); image via Wikimedia Commons
- [Normandie (Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, French Line)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1405126/): A. M. Cassandre, 1935, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.648-2017)
- [Play Between 6 and 12: The Bright Hours, Go by Underground](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1070932/): Edward McKnight Kauffer, 1930, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.1238-1931); image via Wikimedia Commons
- [P.L.M. Marseille, porte de l'Afrique du Nord](https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90039648): Roger Broders, 1929, Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica); image via Wikimedia Commons

## Sources

- Charlotte Benton, Tim Benton & Ghislaine Wood (eds.), Art Deco 1910–1939 (V&A Publications, 2003)
- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, Meggs' History of Graphic Design

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From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Art Deco”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-deco/