About
A creative studio giving ideas a living presence in space.
01 / Approach
Ideas and identities translated into spatial media.
Refractiv creates interactive installations, generative artworks and light installations for brands, venues and public spaces. Image, light, motion and interaction are designed together.
Each project begins with its setting: the architecture, the people who use it and the character of the place. We decide how the space should behave and how people move through it, then develop the visual idea and the systems that give it movement, variation and response.
02 / Forms
From screens
to custom light.
The work takes shape across screens, projected surfaces and custom lighting, as immersive environments, responsive light and real-time generative visuals in commercial and cultural spaces. Some pieces unfold as composed sequences; others generate new images in real time. Sensors detect people's presence and movement, and the work adjusts as conditions in the space change.
Interaction can be a small shift as someone passes or an invitation to take part.
03 / Process
Developing
the idea.
Visual studies and working prototypes let us explore an idea's appearance and behaviour together. We develop the composition, movement and response, then test them against the intended surface and conditions of the site.
Procedural methods carry through each stage. Real-time systems respond to changing conditions, offline workflows produce composed sequences, and generative methods work across both.
04 / Studio
Based in Tokyo,
working internationally.
Refractiv is a founder-led studio, led in Tokyo by Luca Pietropaolo and working with an international network of specialist partners. Partners join according to each project's site and brief, bringing the creative, architectural and technical expertise it needs.
We work directly with commissioners and alongside architects, agencies and production teams, with responsibilities defined for each commission.
05 / Delivery
From concept
to installation.
Creative direction and technology are developed together from the start, so design intent stays embedded as the work is built. A commission can begin with an open idea, a particular site or an existing brief. Our scope may include creative direction, artwork, interaction design, software and technical planning, followed by on-site supervision and calibration.
We coordinate with the people responsible for architecture, fabrication and AV installation. Handover and any ongoing support are agreed around how the work will be used.
- 05.01Brief and site
- 05.02Concept and visual direction
- 05.03Artwork and interaction design
- 05.04Prototyping and technical development
- 05.05On-site supervision and calibration
- 05.06Handover and agreed support
Contact
Discuss a project.
Tell us about the idea, the place or what you would like people to experience. An early thought is enough to start a conversation.