A generative art project about finding beauty in chaos

The Concept

I initially created this project in 2022 for a speculative Design class, using Processing to share a concept of a storm that is good! The idea is that even (especially) when there is chaos under the heavens, goodness is possible. Sometimes the most beautiful things emerge from apparent disorder - like snowflakes in an avalanche, each one unique and magnificent. How can I infuse a program with this spirit, while creating a simple animation to showcase it further?

The Code as Art

One of the unique aspects of this project is that the code itself is designed to visually represent an “avalanche.” Each line of code is intentionally longer than the previous one, creating a cascading visual effect when you look at the source. The comments at the end of each line form their own poem, weaving together the technical and the poetic.

The code structure itself mirrors an avalanche, with lines growing progressively longer

From Processing to Web

With the assitance of an AI, helped me:

• Convert Processing’s Java-like syntax to p5.js JavaScript
• Handle the canvas creation and DOM integration
• Fix array initialization and loop syntax
• Preserve all the poetic structure and comments

The Animation

Watch as colorful snowflakes cascade across the ethereal background, each one unique in color, growing from a single flake to thousands. The avalanche builds slowly, then accelerates - a metaphor for how goodness can multiply and spread.

What’s Next?

Revisiting this experience is inspiring me to see how I can take this animation further. Maybe in collaboration with AI this time? I am thinking about how to make this actually look like a website. The concept in my mind right now is the following: Imagine an animation that is interactive, in that every time the user clicks, a snowball rolls down a mountain. This snowball is a small .

Technical Details

• Original: Processing (Java-based)
• Web Version: p5.js (JavaScript)
• Philosophy: Code as poetry, chaos as beauty