About

Genetics of Design is an algorithmic art studio that transforms scientific and natural data into physical artwork — drawn line by line with ink on paper by a precision pen plotter.

The studio is the work of Nabil Azamy and Anthony DeSantis. The two met while working together at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's McCombie Lab, and their shared appreciation for the intersection of science and craft has shaped the studio's direction from the beginning. Nabil brings over fifteen years of experience in genetics and diagnostics, building computational pipelines that process and interpret genomic data. Anthony's background bridges robotics and content production. Genetics of Design grew from a simple question: what would that data look like if you let it become art?

Every piece begins with real data — gene structures, chromosomal architecture, protein folds, topographic systems, or purely mathematical processes. Custom algorithms interpret that data into visual form: curves, densities, hatching, and geometry that encode the underlying information. Every algorithm is written by hand. Every composition is a human decision — what to reveal, what to abstract, how to let the data speak. The pen plotter then draws the result with actual ink pens on paper, creating a physical artifact that is neither a print nor a digital reproduction, but a machine-drawn original. The plotter introduces subtle variations with each stroke — differences in pressure, ink flow, and paper texture that ensure no two pieces are ever quite alike. Much like the living systems they depict.

The work spans four broad territories: Portraits rendered through algorithmic line work, Scientific visualizations drawn from biology, chemistry, and physics, Topography mapping street networks and terrain, and Generative pieces exploring pure algorithmic pattern.

Genetics of Design is based in Glen Cove, New York, and operates as Genetics of Design LLC.

For inquiries: info@geneticsofdesign.art