Art Deco Is My Favorite Design Era
As a kid, I wasn’t exactly flipping through Architectural Digest, I was watching Batman: The Animated Series. But somewhere along the way I got hooked to the visual design of its' world. The show’s aesthetic was unmistakably Art Deco. It felt important yet alien, as if it belonged to both the past and the future simultaneously.
It wasn't until much later, as a practicing industrial designer, that I realized how deeply that early influence had burrowed into my brain. Art Deco, with all its polished metal, stepped profiles, and ornamental geometry, isn’t just beautiful, it’s useful. It’s a playbook we can return to again and again for design that is emotionally resonant, rich, and endlessly adaptable.
Let’s dig into why Art Deco is not just my favorite design period, but a goldmine for designers working today.
A Brief History
Art Deco emerged in France in the 1920s, blossomed in the 1930s, and stuck around long enough to influence architecture, interiors, fashion, and product design across Europe and America. The name comes from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, a world’s fair of sorts dedicated to modern decorative arts.
Where earlier styles like Art Nouveau were all about organic curves and nature-inspired flourishes, Art Deco pivoted, hard, toward geometry, symmetry, and machine-age optimism. Sound familiar? In many ways it embraces the design movements we are experiencing now. It embraced the future, fusing craft and industry, handwork and technology, creating objects that felt simultaneously luxurious and mass-producible.
Key Characteristics
Art Deco had many defining features that still make it easy to spot, and easy to love:
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Streamlined geometry: zigzags, chevrons, sunbursts, stepped forms
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Luxurious materials: chrome, stainless steel, lacquer, Bakelite, ivory, exotic woods
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Bold contrasts: black and gold, mirrored surfaces, rich jewel tones
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Symmetry and order: nothing is accidental—everything is placed with intention
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Futuristic optimism: a belief in progress through beauty and industry
The Deco Era's Most Iconic Housewares
While Art Deco is often associated with skyscrapers and movie palaces, it had a huge impact on everyday objects—particularly in the home:
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The Electrolux Model V Vacuum (1937): Industrial designer Lurelle Guild gave this appliance sleek, aerodynamic lines that wouldn’t feel out of place on a 1930s locomotive.
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Revere Ware Copper-Clad Cookware: Introduced in the late 1930s, these pots and pans borrowed the streamlined elegance of Deco design, pairing steel with soft copper tones.
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Chase Brass & Copper Company Barware: Cocktail shakers, trays, and serving sets made of chrome, Bakelite, and brass, designed by the likes of Walter von Nessen—proof that even the most utilitarian objects could dazzle.
What To Take From Art Deco
Celebrate Geometry (But Don’t Let It Get Boring)
Art Deco knew how to use repetition, proportion, and shape to create rhythm in objects. Even symmetrical designs had energy thanks to contrast, tiered layers, or movement built into the form. Try to bring balance without stasis. Use geometry not just for structure, but for storytelling.
Elevate Function
A Deco toothbrush holder still felt like it belonged in a hotel. A serving tray looked like it came from a zeppelin’s first-class cabin. There's a certain magic to objects that do simple things, but look like they matter.
Don’t Fear Ornamentation
We’ve lived through years of “design as subtraction.” But sometimes, a surface needs a little jewelry. Art Deco applied ornament like a tailor, not to distract, but to define. I hope in the coming years we can see more detail with intention. A contrast groove, a stepped handle, or a subtle inlay can make a product feel designed, not just manufactured.
Why It Matters Now
In a design world that often swings between minimalism and maximalism, Art Deco offers a third way: bold but refined, decorative but disciplined. It feels at once grounded in history and perpetually modern.
And let's be honest—somewhere between the chrome handles, stepped profiles, and noir-style lighting, Batman: The Animated Series made a lifelong impression on me. It wasn't just the mood—it was the clarity. Everything was considered. Every line had intention. And 30 years later, that aesthetic still feels fresh.
Art Deco isn't just my favorite design era because it looks good on a tumbler or a toaster (it does). I love it because it reminds me that design is a marriage of soul and structure. That beauty and function don’t have to be at odds. And that sometimes, all a home product needs to feel iconic is a little polish, a little symmetry, and a strong silhouette.
