Art Deco Poster
Make a poster in the art deco style with your own words. Pick a layout of symmetrical geometry (a sunburst over a stepped base, nested arches, a fan of half circles, chevrons and a diamond, a stepped tower with rays, or a stepped frame), choose gold on black, black on cream or one of five other palettes, and your headline is set in bold capitals on the centre line, as large as it fits. Pick a poster size from A5 to A1 or US Letter to 24 × 36 in, then download a PDF at the real size, a proof on US Letter or A4, a PNG or an SVG. The shapes are ours and every word is yours; nothing is uploaded.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
The poster-size PDF is the real size you pick (print it at 100% on that paper, or send it to a print shop). The proof fits the whole poster on one US Letter or A4 page with a 2 cm check bar. PNG at 72, 150 or 300 DPI; SVG in millimetres.
Art deco-style poster
Your text
Poster size
Proof PDF
Runs in your browser with our own code: nothing you type is uploaded or saved. The sunbursts, arches, fans, chevrons and stepped frames are geometry we draw ourselves, mirrored about the centre line, and every word on the poster is yours. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed.
How to make an art deco-style poster
- Pick a preset, or a layout and colours.
- Type your headline, a second line and up to six lines of details (date, time, place).
- For a sunburst or tower, set the number of rays (12 to 48).
- Pick the poster size and orientation; the type is sized to fit inside the safe area.
- Download the PDF at poster size, a Letter / A4 proof, the PNG or the SVG.
What you can use it for
- Gala, dinner-dance and New Year’s Eve posters
- Jazz, cabaret and cocktail-night notices
- Vintage-theme party and wedding signs
- Event programmes and menus as a cover
- Wall prints with your own words
- Social posts from the PNG
The 14 presets
| Preset | Layout | Colours | Size | Default headline | Headline size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunburst, gold on black, A3 | Sunburst over a stepped base | Gold and cream on black | A3 (297 × 420 mm) | The Grand Gala | 82.1 pt |
| Sunburst on cream, A2 | Sunburst over a stepped base | Black and gold on cream | A2 (420 × 594 mm) | The Grand Gala | 118.3 pt |
| Nested arches, gold on emerald, A3 | Nested stepped arches | Gold on emerald | A3 (297 × 420 mm) | Jazz Night | 125.7 pt |
| Arches on navy, 18 × 24 in | Nested stepped arches | Gold on navy | 18 × 24 in | Cocktail Hour | 137.7 pt |
| Fan of half circles, A3 | Fan of half circles | Gold and cream on black | A3 (297 × 420 mm) | Spring Ball | 111.3 pt |
| Fan in rose gold, A4 | Fan of half circles | Rose gold on plum | A4 (210 × 297 mm) | Wedding Party | 79.6 pt |
| Chevrons and a diamond, A3 | Chevrons and a diamond | Gold and cream on black | A3 (297 × 420 mm) | Opening Night | 92.7 pt |
| Chevrons on ivory, Tabloid | Chevrons and a diamond | Jade and gold on ivory | Tabloid (11 × 17 in) | The Grand Gala | 82.1 pt |
| Stepped tower, A2 | Stepped tower with rays | Gold and cream on black | A2 (420 × 594 mm) | Skyline Gala | 133.6 pt |
| Tower in silver, 24 × 36 in | Stepped tower with rays | Silver on black | 24 × 36 in | The Grand Gala | 170.5 pt |
| Stepped frame, US Letter | Stepped frame | Gold and cream on black | US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) | New Year’s Eve | 62.4 pt |
| Stepped frame, landscape A3 | Stepped frame | Gold on navy | A3 (297 × 420 mm), landscape | Annual Dinner | 108 pt |
| Sunburst, landscape A2 | Sunburst over a stepped base | Gold on emerald | A2 (420 × 594 mm), landscape | The Grand Gala | 118.3 pt |
| Arches, A1 | Nested stepped arches | Gold and cream on black | A1 (594 × 841 mm) | The Grand Gala | 165.4 pt |
Presets change the layout, colours and size; your own text stays as you typed it.
The colours
| Colours | Ground | Metal | Light | Accent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold and cream on black | #111111 | #c9a646 | #f2ead3 | #7a6327 |
| Black and gold on cream | #f2ead3 | #111111 | #111111 | #b8963a |
| Gold on emerald | #0f3b2e | #d4af5a | #f2ead3 | #1f6b52 |
| Gold on navy | #14213d | #d4af5a | #f5efe0 | #2c4a7c |
| Rose gold on plum | #2b1b24 | #e0b7a0 | #f6e7dc | #7d4b5c |
| Silver on black | #1a1a1a | #c0c4c8 | #f2f2f2 | #5c6066 |
| Jade and gold on ivory | #f1ece0 | #1f5c4a | #1f5c4a | #c9a646 |
Sunburst rays
| Rays | One ray every | Ray width | First ray centred at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 30° | 15° | 105° |
| 16 | 22.5° | 11.25° | 101.25° |
| 24 | 15° | 7.5° | 97.5° |
| 32 | 11.25° | 5.63° | 95.63° |
| 48 | 7.5° | 3.75° | 93.75° |
Angles are measured anticlockwise from the right; 90° points straight up. Each ray takes half of its share of the circle, so rays and gaps are the same width.
Poster sizes and safe area
| Size | Poster | Safe area (each edge) | PNG at 150 DPI | PNG at 300 DPI | Proof on US Letter | Proof on A4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | 7.4 mm | 874 × 1240 px | 1748 × 2480 px | 112.4 % | 120.7 % |
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 10.5 mm | 1240 × 1754 px | 2480 × 3508 px | 79.5 % | 85 % |
| A3 | 297 × 420 mm | 14.9 mm | 1754 × 2480 px | use 150 DPI or the PDF | 56.2 % | 60.1 % |
| A2 | 420 × 594 mm | 21 mm | 2480 × 3508 px | use 150 DPI or the PDF | 39.7 % | 42.5 % |
| A1 | 594 × 841 mm | 29.7 mm | 3508 × 4967 px | use 150 DPI or the PDF | 28.1 % | 30.1 % |
| US Letter | 215.9 × 279.4 mm | 10.8 mm | 1275 × 1650 px | 2550 × 3300 px | 84.5 % | 82.7 % |
| Tabloid | 279.4 × 431.8 mm | 14 mm | 1650 × 2550 px | use 150 DPI or the PDF | 54.7 % | 58.7 % |
| 18 × 24 in | 457.2 × 609.6 mm | 22.9 mm | 2700 × 3600 px | use 150 DPI or the PDF | 38.7 % | 39.1 % |
| 24 × 36 in | 609.6 × 914.4 mm | 30.5 mm | 3600 × 5400 px | use 150 DPI or the PDF | 25.8 % | 27.7 % |
Browsers cap a picture at about 16.7 million pixels, so the biggest sizes stop at 150 DPI as PNG; the PDF has no such limit and is drawn as vector shapes and text at the real size.
What you can download
| Download | What is in it |
|---|---|
| PDF at poster size | One page the size of the poster (real size), vector shapes and real, selectable text |
| Proof PDF | The whole poster fitted on one US Letter or A4 page, with a thin trim line and a 2 cm check bar |
| PNG | The poster as a picture at 72, 150 or 300 DPI |
| SVG | Vector shapes and text in millimetres, to edit further |
Which tool to use
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| A poster with sunbursts, arches or fans and your text | Art Deco Poster (this page) |
| A seamless art deco repeat for wallpaper or fabric | Art Deco Pattern |
| A flat-colour landscape with a place name | Travel Poster |
| Any poster from a photo and your text | Poster Maker |
Other tools: the Poster Maker lays out a poster around your own photo, Poster Sizes lists every standard size, and the Poster Tiler splits a big poster across home-printer pages.
More free tools
Posters, colour and print?
Design tools that run privately in your browser, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Frequently asked questions
What does the tool draw?
Only geometry of our own: rays, discs, arches, half circles, chevrons, diamonds, stepped blocks and thin lines, in a metal colour and an accent on a ground colour. There are no pictures of people, buildings or brands.
Is the design really symmetrical?
Yes. Every shape is built about the vertical centre line, and the tests check that each shape’s mirror image is also on the poster, to a millionth of a millimetre. Every line of type is centred on the same line.
How is the headline sized?
The tool tries the largest size that fits and steps down by 3 % until the whole headline, in at most two lines and without breaking a word, sits inside its zone. It never shrinks below 4 % of the poster’s short side; if a word is too long for that, the tool asks you to shorten it instead of cutting it.
How many rays can a sunburst have?
From 12 to 48, in steps of 4, so the rays fall the same way on both sides of the centre line. The table below gives the angles.
What is the safe area?
A border of 5 % of the poster’s short side. No type comes closer to the edge than that, so trimming never cuts into a letter. Background shapes may run off the edge on purpose and are cut exactly at the trim. The table below gives the border for every size.
Which sizes can I print?
A5, A4, A3, A2 and A1, US Letter, Tabloid (11 × 17 in), 18 × 24 in and 24 × 36 in, portrait or landscape. The PDF page is the poster at its real size.
Why is the PNG off at 300 DPI for big posters?
Browsers cap a picture at about 16.7 million pixels. Use 150 DPI for the PNG, or the PDF, which is vector and prints sharp at any size.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit; the note under the tool says how you may use what you make.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The poster is drawn by JavaScript in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved when you close the page.