About
Genetics of Design is a data art studio that uses pen plotting as its medium. Every piece begins with real data: gene structures, coastlines, star catalogs, facial geometries, living ecosystems. Custom code interprets it into composition, density, and line. The work is meant to be read as much as looked at.
The studio is the work of Nabil Azamy, Anthony DeSantis, and Panchajanya (Panchu) Deshpande, who met while working together at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Nabil brings over fifteen years in genetics and diagnostics, building computational pipelines that process and interpret genomic data; Anthony's background bridges robotics and content production; and Panchu has spent over a decade running DNA-sequencing labs across research and clinical diagnostics. Genetics of Design came out of that shared ground between science and craft.
The code behind each piece is written from scratch, and every composition is an editorial choice about what to reveal and what to leave out.
Originals and prints
Our work is pen-plotted, drawn in ink by plotter one line at a time. We offer it two ways. Archival giclée prints are faithful digital reproductions of our plotted pieces, made to order on fine-art paper and shipped with a signed data-provenance card. These are what we sell in the shop. Pen-plotted originals, drawn in real ink with the subtle variations no two plots share, are one-of-a-kind and available by direct inquiry, alongside commissioned work.
Five categories
The work is organized by the kind of data behind it:
- Omics: DNA sequences, chromosomal architecture, protein folds.
- Terrain: road networks, coastlines, elevation, city grids.
- Ad Astra: star catalogs, exoplanet data, spectral and orbital mechanics.
- Visage: facial geometry; rendered portraits of significant individuals.
- Life: wildlife imagery, species distributions, ecological data.
Every piece carries its data provenance (the source, what was extracted, and how) on its insert card and product description. Nothing here is decorative data; every composition makes a specific, verifiable claim about the world.
Genetics of Design is based in Glen Cove, New York.
For inquiries: info@geneticsofdesign.io