A Question of Style

[Vagabondage]

I'm unsure of what exactly you're asking for but judging on what you have said of your current WIP and your problems, I'll give my two cents.

I'm probably preaching to the choir, but when I hear art deco, I think of organic and sometimes geometric, simplistic, repeated patterns in gold, black, and soft neutral tones. You could easily work such patterns into landforms, water currents, and foliage. Harsh angles, while probably compromising the organic feel of your piece, of the coastlines might aid that look. Using small illustrations in the borders of people in 20s/30s garb and small boats/ships of the era in the seas is a surefire way to get your audience to understand what year it is or is supposed to be like.

As far as font goes, I think clear and elegant cursive handwriting would portray a 20s feel. Fat fonts could work if text-box borders or larger titles were decorated with those patterns I mentioned earlier. You can always use a font as a starting point and then draw around those characters on your own. If you are absolutely insane, you could write some sections in Gregg shorthand (which was still taught in the 30s, I think...). It would definitely help with that high-fantasy feel.