# Art Deco — style guide for coding agents

> Generated from the Aesthetary record for **Art Deco**.
> Research: **Partly sourced** · Build guidance: 2 rules recorded.
> 1 source attached.

## How to use this

Paste this file into your agent as context before asking it to design or build something in this visual language. It states what is established, what is our interpretation, and what nobody has established. Treat all three differently.

**The most important section is "Not researched yet".** Its purpose is to stop you and your agent inventing rules that sound right and are not recorded anywhere.

## What this language is

**Defining:** Stepped forms, sunburst motifs, gold linework, strict symmetry, vertical emphasis

**Recognise it by:** Stepped and setback forms, sunburst and chevron motifs, fine gold or metallic linework, and strict bilateral symmetry with a strong vertical emphasis. The diagnostic combination is symmetry plus stepped geometry plus ornament: geometry alone is Bauhaus, ornament alone is Victorian, and symmetry alone is classical. Because the label was applied retrospectively to several distinct bodies of work, expect genuine internal variation — the French luxury objects and the American skyscraper idiom are not the same thing.

**Family:** Geometric & Graphic
**Era:** early-modernist

## What it is arguing

Industrial modernity can be luxurious. Machine geometry is used as ornament rather than as a rejection of ornament.

**It refuses:** Refuses both Victorian organic ornament and the modernist position that geometry must be austere.

## What it is not

Commonly confused with these. Getting the difference right matters more than getting the surface right:

- Bauhaus
- Gilded
- Girih & Arabesque — A construction system with rules; getting the construction wrong is visible to anyone who knows it
- Streamline Moderne

**What separates this language:** Machine-age luxury; geometric but ornamental, unlike Bauhaus

_This is the record's own distinguishing line, not a comparison against any one neighbour. Where a per-neighbour difference is recorded it appears beside that name above; where it is absent, nobody has written it._

## Established rules

Grouped by what kind of claim each is. A requirement of the language and our own interpretation are not interchangeable.

**How to read each rule.** Every rule states two separate things, and neither stands in for the other:

- **Kind of claim** (the heading): Documented · Source not yet verified.
- **Evidence** (how it is established): Graded by our research brief · No source attached (`DOCUMENTED`) · From our catalogue entry (`SUPPORTED`) · Our reading (`CURATORIAL`) · Not researched yet (`UNKNOWN`) · No grade recorded (no grade in the record). Where a claim has its own canonical label, the Evidence line gives that label instead of the grade.
- **Product area**: which of the twelve areas the rule belongs to (Layout, Typography, Color, Imagery, Surface, Interface, Motion, Motif, Technique, Form, Hierarchy, Density), mapped from its raw area label in bold. "Context" means the rule is about the Aesthetic (its name, origin, lineage) rather than a part of the design. "Not mapped" means the raw area has no single area yet.
- The code in brackets is the `grade` field at `implementationConstraints.tokenRules.value.rules[].provenance.grade` in https://aesthetary.com/data/art-deco.json. "From our catalogue entry" means: Stated in Aesthetary’s existing catalogue entry. An outside source is named only where one is linked to the claim.

### Documented · Source not yet verified

- **ornament** — Ornament is geometric in construction — stepped profiles, chevrons, fans, concentric circles, vertical banding — never organic growth form.
  - Kind of claim: Documented · Source not yet verified · Evidence: Documented · Source not yet verified · Product area: Motif

## Positions by area

The overall position recorded for each area. "No overall position recorded" means rules exist for the area but no position above them; the rules still apply. It is not the same as "Not established", which means nobody has researched the area.

- **Typography** — Specified
- **Motif** — Specified

## Design grammar — web primitives

A starting grammar for a website in Art Deco. The record establishes one rule (ornament is geometric) and a display type treatment; colour, layout, imagery, motion and interface are not researched yet, and the sources do not specify body type. This grammar says so instead of filling them.

Three kinds of line: **On the record** names a rule this record holds (its wording is under Established rules) and states what it becomes on the web. **Web translation** is Aesthetary's choice for the web, derived from the rules it cites; change it if you have a reason, keep the cited rule. **Not specified by the source** means the research reached this but the sources say nothing about it; **Not researched yet** means the research has not reached it yet. Either way, follow the instruction and do not invent a rule. Structured version: `designGrammar` in data/art-deco.json.

### Colour

| Role | Value | Contrast | Use | Kind |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| metal | `#C8A24B` | — | Linework: the fine gold or metallic line the recognition statement names. | Web translation |

- **Web translation** — Draw linework in a gold or metallic tone. _Why:_ Our translation of the record's recognition signature into this web primitive; the record states it as the look, not as a rule. (`gestalt`)
- **Not researched yet** — The ground colour and wider palette are not researched yet. _Instead:_ Choose a ground that lets the metallic line read (it needs 3:1). Do not present a black-and-gold palette as the Deco palette.

### Typography

Family: geometric sans, for display, in capitals. Stack: `"Jost", "Futura", "Century Gothic", sans-serif`

| Role | Size | Weight | Line height | Case | Tracking | Measure | Use |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| display | 2.5rem | 400 | 1.1 | uppercase | not specified | — | Headings and labels. |

- **Web translation** — Set display text in a geometric sans, in capitals. _Why:_ Our translation of the record's typography block into this web primitive; the block is a catalogue phrase, not a rule. (`typography`)
- **Not specified by the source** — The sources do not specify body type. _Instead:_ Choose a reading face on legibility grounds and do not call it Deco.
- **Not specified by the source** — The sources do not specify tracking. _Instead:_ Wide-spaced capitals are a common Deco cliché; the record does not hold them.

### Grid and layout

Layout is not researched yet. What the record holds is vertical emphasis and stepped, setback forms.

- **Web translation** — Lean compositions vertical: tall panels, tall proportions, content read upward. _Why:_ The recognition statement names a strong vertical emphasis. (`gestalt`)
- **Not researched yet** — Bilateral symmetry is not adopted as a rule. _Instead:_ It appears in the recognition statement, but the record does not adopt it because the bodies of work under the label differ. Use it as a choice, not a requirement.

### Shape and geometry

Tokens: step `4px` · band-gap `6px` · line `1px`

- **On the record · Documented · Source not yet verified** · `token_rule:ad-r1` → Build ornament geometrically: stepped profiles, chevrons, fans, concentric circles, vertical banding.
- **On the record · Documented · Source not yet verified** · `token_rule:ad-r1`, `intent` → Never use organic, growth-form ornament.

### Imagery

- **Not researched yet** — Imagery is not researched yet. _Instead:_ Nothing about photography or illustration is established. Choose on content grounds.

### Ornament

The one recorded rule, and the centre of the language: machine geometry used as decoration, never organic form.

Tokens: orn-step `4px` · orn-band `2px`

- **On the record · Documented · Source not yet verified** · `token_rule:ad-r1` → Use stepped profiles, chevrons, fans, concentric circles and vertical banding.
- **Web translation** — Treat geometry as ornament, not as austerity. _Why:_ Our translation of the record's argument (intent) into this web primitive; the record argues it, it does not state it as a rule. (`intent`)
- **Web translation** — Draw ornament in CSS (clip-path, borders, gradients of hard stops) so it scales and stays out of the accessibility tree. _Why:_ Geometric ornament is constructable, so it can be drawn rather than placed as images. (`token_rule:ad-r1`)

### Components

Anatomy, tokens and states below are Web translation: Aesthetary's specification for the screen. Each value line after them says whether it restates a rule this record holds.

#### Button

A stepped silhouette: the corners are cut in steps, and the label is set in geometric capitals.

- Anatomy: stepped (setback) corners; label in geometric sans capitals; thin metallic line
- Tokens: corners `stepped, two steps of 4px` · border `1px solid metal` · case `uppercase`
- State, default: Metallic line on the ground, capitals in the line colour.
- State, hover: The field fills with the metal; the label takes the ground colour.
- State, focus: 2px outline one step outside the silhouette.
- State, active: Filled, with the inner line drawn.
- State, disabled: Line and label at reduced contrast, still above 3:1.
- Accessibility: Capitals are short labels only; sentences stay in mixed case.
- Accessibility: The stepped corners are clip-path, so the focus outline is drawn on a wrapper and stays visible.
- **Web translation** — Cut the corners in steps rather than rounding or leaving them square. _Why:_ Stepped profiles are named geometric ornament; the setback form is in the recognition statement. (`token_rule:ad-r1`, `gestalt`)
- **Web translation** — Set labels in geometric sans capitals. _Why:_ The record's typography is geometric display capitals, for display type; carrying them to interface labels is this grammar's translation. (`typography`)

#### Card

A tall panel with a stepped crown and vertical banding: the card is read upward.

- Anatomy: stepped top edge; vertical bands down the sides; title in geometric capitals
- Tokens: top `stepped crown, three setbacks` · bands `2px lines, 6px apart` · ratio `taller than wide`
- State, default: Metallic linework on the ground.
- State, hover: The bands fill.
- State, focus: 2px outline.
- Accessibility: Ornament is CSS on the container, so it is invisible to screen readers.
- Accessibility: Body text is not set in capitals.
- **Web translation** — Crown the card with a stepped profile and run vertical banding down its sides. _Why:_ Stepped profiles and vertical banding are named ornament, and the recognition statement stresses vertical emphasis. (`token_rule:ad-r1`, `gestalt`)

#### Input

A plain field framed by one metallic line, its label in geometric capitals above. The ornament stays off the control.

- Anatomy: 1px metallic line; label in small geometric capitals; mixed-case entry text
- Tokens: border `1px solid metal` · radius `0` · labelCase `uppercase`
- State, default: 1px metallic line.
- State, focus: 2px line and outline.
- State, error: Message in words, beginning "Error:".
- State, disabled: Line at reduced contrast.
- Accessibility: Entry text is never forced to capitals.
- Accessibility: The field boundary meets 3:1 against the ground.
- **Web translation** — Set the label in geometric sans capitals. _Why:_ The record's typography is geometric display capitals, for display type; carrying them to interface labels is this grammar's translation. (`typography`)
- **Not researched yet** — Interface is not researched yet, so there is no Deco position on form controls. _Instead:_ Keep the field plain; ornament on a control is a decision to state, not a Deco rule.

#### Navigation

Capitals spaced across the top, with a fan or sunburst mark as the one ornament.

- Anatomy: links in geometric capitals; one fan motif; thin rule under the row
- Tokens: case `uppercase` · rule `1px solid metal`
- State, default: Capitals in the line colour.
- State, hover: A fan appears under the item.
- State, focus: 2px outline.
- State, current: The fan stays under the current item.
- Accessibility: aria-current on the current item; the fan is decoration only.
- **Web translation** — Set navigation labels in geometric sans capitals. _Why:_ The record's typography is geometric display capitals, for display type; carrying them to interface labels is this grammar's translation. (`typography`)
- **Web translation** — Mark the current item with a fan, not colour alone. _Why:_ Fans are named geometric ornament; a mark that is not colour survives colour-blind reading. (`token_rule:ad-r1`)

### Motion

- **Not researched yet** — Motion is not researched yet. _Instead:_ Use none by default. Any motion is a decision to state.

### Deliberately not added

- **A palette beyond metallic linework** (color): Colour is not researched yet.
- **Body type and tracking** (typography): The sources specify display type only (geometric sans, capitals).
- **A layout system, and symmetry as a rule** (gridLayout): Symmetry is in the recognition statement but the rule's note says it does not survive the style's internal variation.
- **Imagery** (imagery): Not researched yet.
- **Any Deco position on interface** (components): The research record does not establish interface conventions for Art Deco. All four components are contemporary translations of documented rules.
- **Motion** (motion): Not researched yet.

## Not researched yet

Nobody has established a position for this language on:

- Layout
- Color
- Imagery
- Surface
- Interface
- Motion
- Technique
- Form

**Do not fill these in.** An absent position is absent research, not permission and not a blank for you to complete. If the work needs a decision in one of these areas, make it on other grounds and do not attribute it to this language.

## Grade your own work

6 checks: 0 mechanically testable, 4 needing a person to look, 0 needing a source Aesthetary does not hold, 2 with no recorded position. Scores do not add up. A failure against a required rule and a departure from something we invented are not the same result, and no total should let them cancel.

### Recognition — does this read as the intended Aesthetic?

- **[visual_human · recognition signature · Evidence: No grade recorded]** Strip every logo, word and borrowed image out of your work, then show it to someone who knows the collection. Do they land on this Aesthetic? The signature to hold is: Stepped and setback forms, sunburst and chevron motifs, fine gold or metallic linework, and strict bilateral symmetry with a strong vertical emphasis. The diagnostic combination is symmetry plus stepped geometry plus ornament: geometry alone is Bauhaus, ornament alone is Victorian, and symmetry alone is classical. Because the label was applied retrospectively to several distinct bodies of work, expect genuine internal variation — the French luxury objects and the American skyscraper idiom are not the same thing.
  - _If it fails:_ The work may be competent and still read as a different Aesthetic, or as none. Nothing below matters until this passes.

### Fidelity — are its defining rules present?

- **[unassessable · no recorded position · Evidence: Not researched yet (`UNKNOWN`)]** Nothing is recorded as a requirement of this Aesthetic. There is no rule here that your work must hold — which means nothing you do can fail this dimension, and nothing you do can satisfy it either. That is missing research, not freedom.
  - _If it fails:_ Not applicable. An empty dimension is an absence of research, never a pass and never a failure.

### Implementation — were those rules translated appropriately into this medium?

- **[visual_human · Documented · Source not yet verified · Evidence: Documented · Source not yet verified]** Your work may depart from this — but knowingly, not by accident. Ornament is geometric in construction — stepped profiles, chevrons, fans, concentric circles, vertical banding — never organic growth form.
  - _If it fails:_ A defensible departure, and you should be able to say why you made it.

### Avoidance — known failure modes, neighbour drift, cloning

- **[visual_human · neighbour drift · Evidence: No grade recorded]** Could your work be mistaken for Girih & Arabesque? That language is: A construction system with rules; getting the construction wrong is visible to anyone who knows it
  - _If it fails:_ Not necessarily wrong, but you are closer to Girih & Arabesque than to this Aesthetic.
- **[visual_human · neighbour drift · Evidence: No grade recorded]** Could your work be mistaken for Streamline Moderne? That language is: Curves where the parent has steps; aerodynamic rather than ziggurat
  - _If it fails:_ Not necessarily wrong, but you are closer to Streamline Moderne than to this Aesthetic.

### Accessibility — the Aesthetic preserved without its inaccessible practice

- **[unassessable · no recorded position · Evidence: Not researched yet (`UNKNOWN`)]** Does this Aesthetic conflict with any usability floor? Nobody has recorded one for it.
  - _If it fails:_ Nothing — and that is the problem. An unrecorded conflict is not an absent one. Hold AA on reading matter and decide the rest on other grounds.

## Rules for the agent

1. Do not invent rules for any area listed under **Not researched yet**.
2. Do not treat an absent position as permission to do anything you like — say that the language has no position, and decide on other grounds.
3. Keep our interpretations separable from the language's own requirements. If asked to justify a choice, cite which kind of claim it came from.
4. If you need something this record does not contain, say so rather than producing a confident answer from the aesthetic's name.
5. When you self-score against "Grade your own work", score only checks marked `mechanical`. Declare `visual_human` and `evidence_dependent` checks unjudged rather than guessing, and never score an `unassessable` one.
6. Evidence "Not researched yet" (`UNKNOWN`) is never a failure. It means nobody researched the dimension, so departing from what is written there costs nothing and must not be reported as a defect. "No grade recorded" is not a grade either: do not treat it as our decision or as an outside source.
7. In **Design grammar**, a "Web translation" line is our choice for the web and may be changed with a reason; the rules it cites may not. Never present a translation as a property of the language.

## Provenance

- Record: `art-deco` · status `draft` · research `partly_researched`
- Full structured record: https://aesthetary.com/data/art-deco.json
- Human-readable record: https://aesthetary.com/a/art-deco.html
- This file is a snapshot. The record may have changed since; check the page above.

_Aesthetary is an alpha. Where a page says nothing, nobody has done the work yet._