Refraction Labs is the alter ego of Shadi El Hajj, a Creative Developer and Generative Artist based in London.
I specialise in Real-Time Graphics, Data Visualisation, Algorithmic Visuals and Interactive Installations using tools such as Unity and WebGL.
For the past 15 Years I have been working at the intersection of Software Engineering, Digital Art, and R&D, for a broad range of international clients in the Creative Industry.
I am the author of several Digital Art projects and Digital Dance performances. Many of them have been showcased at international festivals.
Refraction Labs is about creating magic through technology, turning light into colour.
Refraction Labs is the alter ego of Shadi El Hajj, a Creative Developer and Generative Artist based in London.
I specialise in Real-Time Graphics, Data Visualisation, Algorithmic Visuals and Interactive Installations.
Refraction Labs is about creating magic through technology, turning light into colour.
As part of a vision project commissioned by Mercedes-Benz to reimagine the future of driving, we designed this in-car maps prototype.
The maps combine topographical information, city data, navigation and state-of-the-art rendering to provide passengers with an experience that is both functional and emotional.
Ford Smart Mobility commissioned us to design and implement a compelling data visualisation promoting road safety and illustrating how big data can help reduce accidents.
The dataset used to create the generative visuals consists of 40 million data points of 100 dimensions each.
As part of their online presence at Expo Dubai 2020, Siemens asked us to design a series of interactive visuals illustrating how six major cities are responding to Digitalisation.
These Data Portraits, part of Siemens’ “Atlas of Digitalization” are implemented in WebGL and run on all major platforms and devices.
For Ericsson’s presence at MWC 2018, we designed and implemented four interactive gateways that react to participant’s presence in a unique way and materialise the brand’s new values.
Every gateway includes three Kinects which outputs are combined and stitched using a custom calibration algorithm.
Ontologies of Desire explores the relationship between an AI researcher and his digital offspring which comes to life and discovers a world of form, movement and emotions.
The generative visuals are driven by a bespoke system that captures a 3D scan of the dancers who interact with virtual simulation models.
The Archetypes is a Generative Art project inspired by archetypal symbols shared across all humanity and embedded deep within our collective unconscious.
The challenge behind the project is to animate particles through physics formulas, and let emergent behaviour suggest these images and symbols.
Photon Rain is a Digital Performance where dancers paint with their bodies, creating a mental space filled with shadows gliding in ephemeral lightscapes.
A bespoke system detects the dancer’s movements, maps them to a fluid and particle simulation system which drives the “light paint” projected on stage.