The short version
- Art Deco is a decorative style that flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, named after the 1925 Paris exhibition of decorative and industrial arts.
- Art Deco design combines strict geometry, such as sunbursts, chevrons, fans and stepped forms, with rich materials and colours like gold, black, emerald and navy.
- Art Deco lettering is tall, geometric and high contrast, often with very thin and very thick strokes in the same letter.
- The name Art Deco was popularised in the 1960s, decades after the style itself, notably by the historian Bevis Hillier’s 1968 book.
- A modern Art Deco look works best with one dark ground, one metallic accent, one geometric motif and plenty of symmetry.
On this page
Art Deco design is the glamorous geometric style of the 1920s and 1930s: sunbursts, fans, chevrons and stepped shapes, set in rich colours like gold on black, emerald and deep navy, with tall, elegant lettering. It took its name from the 1925 Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris. Today it suits anything that should feel celebratory and a little luxurious, from wedding invitations to cocktail menus to brand launches.
Art Deco history: where the style came from
Art Deco mixed many sources: the faceted shapes of Cubism, the machine age’s love of speed and repetition, and a fashion for ancient Egyptian motifs after the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922. It appeared everywhere at once, in skyscrapers, ocean liners, cinemas, jewellery and posters. The Chrysler Building in New York, completed in 1930, is probably its most famous monument, with a stepped crown of stainless steel sunbursts.
The name came later. People at the time spoke of style moderne; the label Art Deco spread in the 1960s, helped along by Bevis Hillier’s 1968 book on the period. By the late 1930s the style had softened into Streamline Moderne, with curves and horizontal speed lines replacing sharp zigzags.
Art Deco colours
Deco colour is about contrast and richness: a dark, lacquered ground and a metallic accent, sometimes with one jewel tone. The palettes below are built for screen and print. Gold in particular only reads as metal when it shifts from dark to light, which is why a gradient works better than a flat yellow; gold gradients explains why.
Codes
#0d0d0d #c9a227 #e8d7a9Mood
Codes
#0f4c3a #b08d3c #f4efe4Mood
Codes
#1b2a41 #e8d7a9 #c0c0c0Mood
Codes
#e9c9c1 #8c5a3c #2b1d1aMood
Codes
#2f7f73 #e8735a #f2e8d5Mood
Art Deco patterns and motifs
The motifs are geometric and symmetrical: rays fanning out from a point, stepped ziggurat outlines, chevrons, scallops and repeated thin lines. Many can be drawn in a single CSS gradient, which makes them easy to use as backgrounds and borders.
Art Deco fonts and lettering
Deco lettering is tall and geometric, often all capitals, with dramatic contrast between thick and thin strokes. Some faces stack strokes or add inline cuts. Classic examples include Broadway and A. M. Cassandre’s Peignot, and Cassandre’s posters for ocean liners remain the reference for Deco layout. For free alternatives, Poiret One and Limelight on Google Fonts carry the feel well.
- Set headlines in capitals with generous letter spacing, which suits the tall proportions.
- Pair one display face with a quiet sans for details; two decorative faces fight each other.
- Use inline or double strokes for a jewellery like finish. Gradiently’s Inline and Double lettering treatments do this to any heading.
- Centre and stack the type symmetrically, the way Deco signs and doorways are composed.
For more on choosing the display face, see elegant fonts and display fonts.
How to use Art Deco in modern design
A symmetrical event post: capital eyebrow, centred headline, one line of detail.
A 5×7 inch invitation at 1500×2100: Deco works beautifully in print, where fine lines hold up.
Costume
- Every motif at once: fans, zigzags, sunbursts
- Flat mustard standing in for gold
- Three decorative fonts
- Gold glow around every word
Modern Deco
- One motif, used as a border or background
- A gold that shifts from dark to light
- One display face and one quiet sans
- Fine metallic rules and crisp edges
- 1
Choose a dark ground
Black, navy or emerald. Deco depends on the contrast between a deep surface and a bright metal.
- 2
Pick one motif
A sunburst behind the headline, a fan at the foot or a stepped frame. One is enough.
- 3
Build symmetry
Centre the composition on a vertical axis, with type stacked and evenly spaced.
- 4
Add metal sparingly
Lines, lettering and the motif in gold. Large flat areas of gold look cheap.
Deco suits invitation design, restaurant and bar branding, jewellers and anything seasonal and festive. A Gradiently Mark with a dark ground and metallic light can stand in for the lacquer and gilt, so the background already feels rich while you keep the type and motif crisp on top. For a stricter, more functional cousin from the same decade, read Bauhaus design.
Questions people ask
What is Art Deco design?
A decorative style of the 1920s and 1930s that combines geometric motifs such as sunbursts and chevrons with luxurious colours and materials like gold, black and emerald.
What colours are Art Deco?
Black, gold, deep navy, emerald, ivory and champagne are the classics. Pastel Deco, as in Miami, uses jade, coral and pale pink.
What font is Art Deco?
Tall, geometric, high contrast capitals such as Broadway and Peignot. Free options with a similar feel include Poiret One and Limelight.
Where does the name Art Deco come from?
From the 1925 Paris Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes. The short name became common in the 1960s.
How do I make an Art Deco background in CSS?
Use a repeating conic gradient from the bottom centre for a sunburst, or a repeating radial gradient for a fan, in gold on black or navy.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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