Art deco designs and symbols came to not only reflect a style of architecture, but also capture the spirit of a decade.

The art deco movement was a creature of the 1920s and the rebirth of the world at the end of World War I. The movement grew out of the art nouveau movement—while the art nouveau movement was naturalistic, the art deco movement was mechanized. While the art nouveau movement was curvilinear, the art deco movement was geometric and angular. While the art nouveau movement celebrated the fantastic, the art deco movement celebrated the modern.

Common Art deco Designs and Symbols
When Howard Carter discovered King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, all things Egyptian became fashion statements—they also became an integral part of art deco décor. Hieroglyphics, stylized drawings of pharaohs and other ancient Egyptian motifs were incorporated into Art deco art and architecture.

Ancient Egypt wasn’t the only historical contributor to art deco design. Classical influences from ancient Greece and Rome as well as from the Aztec and Mayan cultures can be found in art deco creations.

Despite the historical touches, art deco was also a celebration of the modern world. More and more people owned their own automobiles. Charles Lindberg succeeded in crossing the Atlantic by air in 1927. Motion pictures could have sound. All of this, and more, had an impact on art deco designs. You can find stylized modern inventions in art deco design, including streamlined automobiles, grinding machine gears and eternally round hubcaps.

Nature wasn’t completely ignored. However, these motifs looked less natural than when used in art nouveau works. Birds, giant sunbeams and starbursts were included in art deco works.

In fact, art deco was geometric. Natural shapes, while still recognizable, might be extruded into extreme geometric forms and patterns. While curved lines, circles and semi-circles provided contrast to linear and angular forms, the curved lines themselves could appear to be tough and sharp and were designed to impart a sense of strength into architectural designs and sculptures.