Art Deco

Art Deco is known as Jazz Moderne or just moderne and it originated in France in the 1920s. It continued to develop in Western Europe and the United States throughout the 1930s. The name was established from the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Industriels Modernes which was held in Paris in 1925, where the style was first exhibited. Art Deco used fashion to portray modernism and this was observed in the mass production of luxurious clothes that showed an anti tradition fashion that symbolized wealth and sophistication.

Art Deco was influenced from the traditions of Art and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau. In early 1915 there was a sentiment of a need to change however this was stalled due to World War 1. After the World War 1, France experienced a return to order and this was manifested in the new ‘less decorative style’.

Inspiration of Art Deco designs included:

·         Ancient Egyptian

·         Tribal art

·         Surrealism

·         Futurism/Cubism/Constructivism

·         Neo Classicism

·         Geometrical Abstraction

Well known artists within the Art Deco movement included Tamara de Lempicka, Erte (a fashion illustrator), Rene Lalique (glass artist) and Cassandre a graphic designer.

Art Deco in graphic design

 Adolphe Mouron Cassandre

Famous graphic designer of art deco movement is Adolphe Mouron Cassandre. He was a painter, a commercial poster artist and a typeface designer. His graphic techniques show influences of Surrealism and Cubism. During the 1930’s his style became very popular in Europe and the US.

This is one of Cassandre’s posters “L’Atlantique”. One can see that the cruise liner is represented by a giant rectangle. The ship looks almost entirely made up of the hulking geometric shape and with just few extras elements to transform it into an ocean liner. “L’Atlantique” reminds about the golden age of the luxury cruise liners.

Art Deco has made an impact on typography. Cassandre created a typeface which is called ‘Bifur typeface’, composed of thick base forms which were decorated with thin filler lines.  

Bifur typeface

 

Nowadays, the art deco movement still has an impact on graphic design. It makes frequent appearances in the world of logo design. In these three designs (below) one can see the use of typefaces, the sunbursts and the airbrush effects. 

Logos

References

lask, D. (2014). A.M. Cassandre : Design Is History. [online] Designishistory.com. Available at: http://www.designishistory.com/1920/am-cassandre/ [Accessed 22 Dec. 2014].

Vam.ac.uk, (2014). Art Deco - Victoria and Albert Museum. [online] Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/a/art-deco/ [Accessed 22 Dec. 2014].