Art Deco Advertising - Cruise Lines and other Transportation

Art Deco Advertising containing ocean liners and large vessels often had a very similar colour scheme - placid blues, warm and inviting reds, and the inevitable clean and crisp whites. These colours helped give a raw elements feel to the posters, as well as giving them an inviting presence due to the colours not coming off as so intense.

Illustration styles often
took two angles: the angle seen in the image to the left, which depicts the ship to have a faster presence, with the flowing of the flag and steam representing a 'wind-in-the-sails' effect that had been lost to the steam power that had taken over wind power alone many years previous. The angle gives the boat a triumphant, somewhat powerful stance within the poster, which helps appeal to the audience through drawing out feelings of awe and amazement that accompanied the world surrounding them. This era was the era of technological advancements in transportation in terms of both speed and visual appeal - everything was streamlined, which entailed the long and sleek bodies of vehicles and the trimmings of chrome to help enhance aerodynamics and overall performance. People were both fascinated and a little taken back by such structures, which matches the desired reaction that Disney awaits from each customer that experiences anything related to the brand. Disney wants the customer to feel the magic, the awe, the sparkle in their eye as they witness something amazing. The surrounding examples of ads capture this well, even if it's not in the context of Disney.


Another angle taken to represent a large ocean vessel in this era was front-facing. This, I feel, is what gives the ship a very triumphant, powerful presence within the ad. The vessel looks tall, strong, and sturdy. Though I do appreciate this representation, I feel that it holds too much of a masculine, intimidating atmosphere. To represent the brand in a positive manner, the angle of which the ship is presented is crucial; the brand must be represented in the correct way in order to appeal to a particular target audience. This angle however, appears too industrialised and less appealing in comparison to the previous vessel in the above image.