AI Meets Emotion: Helping Microsoft Research Build Mosaic
Thomas King on
We often talk about building tools and platforms that empower expression—whether that’s helping storytellers reach audiences at scale or supporting open source contributors that empower developers. But sometimes, digital expression takes a more literal shape.
When Microsoft Research set out to explore how people feel about AI, not through charts or surveys, but through art, they imagined Mosaic: an interactive, AI-powered mural that translated individual sentiment into stylized portraits using ChatGPT and DALL·E.
Our team was brought in to help bring that vision to life: an emotionally resonant, cinematic experience designed for reflection, not just interaction.
Working closely with Microsoft’s internal team, we helped shape Mosaic as a fluid, immersive canvas—not a traditional web interface. Built with React, Three.js, and Azure-hosted OpenAI models, the platform interpreted thousands of text responses, mapped them to emotional categories, and rendered unique visual portraits in real time.
For the web presentation layer, we extended Microsoft’s Fluent UI system with custom effects and motion, balancing performance with presence. Intelligent rendering, caching, and custom loading logic ensured a seamless experience—even at scale. To generate the images comprising this mural, we developed and engineered careful ChatGPT and DALL-E prompts that ensured emotional resonance with the original input, along with variety and some safeguards.
Mosaic wasn’t a product. It was a prototype with purpose: a digital expression of collective feeling about AI, grounded in research and brought to life through thoughtful design and engineering.
Head over to our new Fueled site to read the full case study. (In case you missed it, 10up is now the WordPress practice of Fueled.)
Whether you’re envisioning a bold application of AI or looking to bring expressive depth to your next platform, we’re ready to help you build what’s next. Let’s talk.