Name: Zellige Masterclass — Zellige as Algorithm
Author: Kamel Ghabte

What you'll master

Read a zellige pattern as a system of formal rules, not a static image.

Identify the symmetry group of a tessellation and derive its allowed transformations.

Translate a geometric rule into generative code (p5.js / Python / SVG).

Design algorithmic variations of a base pattern without losing visual coherence.

Use constraint as a creative tool: color, proportion, density.

Produce an original exportable piece — print, web, installation — from rules you defined yourself.

Curriculum — 6 modules

Module 0

Zellige is a language

Deconstruct the craft object to read a formal grammar: symmetry, invariance, substitution rules.

Module 1

Foundational geometry

The 17 plane symmetry groups, periodic and aperiodic tessellations — understanding what makes a pattern 'legal'.

Module 2

From pattern to rule to code

Extract the hidden algorithm inside an 8-pointed star. First generative scripts in p5.js or Python.

Module 3

Repetition & generative systems

L-systems, automata, substitution: the same mechanisms as in classical zellige, expressed in code.

Module 4

Color, constraint, composition

Historical Moroccan zellige palette, chromatic constraints, visual balance — from craft rule to digital parameter.

Module 5

Guided project — your first generative piece

From blank canvas to exportable file: build an original zellige composition that is reproducible and modular.

Who is this for?

This masterclass is aimed at graphic and interactive designers who want to go beyond templates and understand the logic behind patterns. At creative developers curious to ground their generative coding practice in a millennia-old geometric tradition. At digital artists looking for a rigorous formal vocabulary for their generative work. And at art and design educators who want to bring an algorithmic perspective to their teaching.

No advanced math prerequisites. Curiosity about systems is enough.

Who is this by?

Kamel Ghabte is an artist and engineer, based between Morocco and internationally. His work sits at the intersection of creative coding, Islamic geometry, and generative systems. He has been teaching algorithmic thinking applied to visual arts for several years, with audiences ranging from design students to tech professionals.

His conviction: Moroccan craftsmen invented algorithms long before the word existed. This masterclass is the proof.