Art Deco

Art Deco emerged in the 1920s and stayed prominent through the 1930s, pulling visual influence from the era's new technology. Cars and ocean liners were part of it, but so was the first wave of real skyscrapers. It kept ornamentation heavy but organized it through strict geometric repetition. Chrome and lacquer showed up constantly, often set against inlaid wood, arranged in symmetrical patterns or sunburst motifs. The Chrysler Building, completed in 1930, is the reference point most people picture without knowing the building's name. Still gets used today for branding that wants to suggest old-money formality, hotel lobbies especially.