Deco

Deco

Deco, short for Art Deco, is a highly influential visual arts design style that emerged in France during the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Characterized by sleek geometric shapes, bold colors, and lavish ornamentation, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. The style encompassed a wide range of fields, including architecture, interior design, industrial design, fashion, jewelry, and graphic arts. Art Deco drew inspiration from various sources, such as the geometric forms of Cubism, the bright colors of Fauvism, the streamlined shapes of Futurism, and the exoticism of ancient Egyptian, Aztec, and other non-Western art. It also embraced modern materials like chrome, stainless steel, and Bakelite plastic. Architecturally, Art Deco buildings often featured smooth walls, straight lines, and stylized, geometric decorations. Interiors showcased polished wood, shiny fabrics, and ornate mirrors. In graphic design, Art Deco was characterized by precise, bold, and simplified shapes, often arranged in symmetrical patterns. The style fell out of favor after World War II, giving way to more functional and unadorned modernist styles, but has since enjoyed several revivals in design, fashion, and popular culture.

Art Deco, 1920s, 1930s, geometric shapes, bold colors, luxury, glamour, architecture, interior design, industrial design, fashion, jewelry, graphic arts, Cubism, Fauvism, Futurism, chrome, stainless steel, Bakelite plastic, stylized decorations, symmetric

— John Armstrong