Art Deco vs Art Deco Graphics

Art Deco Graphics is the cross-discipline counterpart of Art Deco — the poster-and-advertising wing of the same Art Deco style.

Chrysler Building, New York — original sketch elevation (Art Deco)

Art Deco

Glamorous machine-age modernism — bold geometry, stepped setbacks, and stylized ornament that made the skyscraper feel like the future.

  • Stepped 'setback' massing that tapers as it rises
  • Strong vertical piers emphasizing height
  • Geometric ornament: zigzags, chevrons, sunbursts
  • Banded or ribbon windows with decorative spandrels
  • Stylized, machine-age decorative motifs
Full Art Deco guide →
Original specimen in the Art Deco poster style

Art Deco Graphics

The streamlined, glamorous poster style of the Jazz Age — bold geometric stylization, dramatic flat color, airbrushed volume, and elegant geometric lettering selling ocean liners, trains, and modern luxury.

  • Bold flat planes of color with airbrushed gradients
  • Streamlined geometric stylization of ships, trains, and figures
  • Strong diagonals, speed lines, and dramatic perspective
  • Elegant custom geometric sans-serif lettering
  • Glamorous Jazz Age subjects of luxury and travel
Full Art Deco Graphics guide →

At a glance

Art DecoArt Deco Graphics
Era1910s–19401920–1939
DisciplineArchitectureGraphic Design
RegionUnited States, France, WorldwideFrance, United States
FamilyDeco familyArt Deco, Modernism
Formal traitsgeometric, ornamental, stepped, luxuriousgeometric, streamlined, flat-color, diagonal-dynamism

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