Is that really you?

With the multitude of crime-related dramas on television nowadays, identity-revealing clues such as fingerprints and DNA are not as mysterious as they once were. Not only can they be used to conclusively determine your identity, they can be seen as beautiful pieces of art. It just depends on your perspective.

That's exactly what happened when Nazim Ahmed brought some work home one day and his friend Adrian Salamunovic saw it. The result is their unique partnership, DNA 11.

DNA 11 creates artistic portraits out of DNA strands. The portraits can be personalized in 25 color combinations and combined to create family portraits, using as many as four people's DNA on one canvas. Additionally, the company creates portraits out of fingerprints and lip prints.

Ahmed, who has a degree in molecular genetics, was working for a biotechnology firm in California. He said he had some images of DNA and brochures for the company that Salamunovic happened to glance at. Salamunovic, who specializes in Web marketing and design, saw the images as art rather than scientific signatures. So the two men, who had been friends since they were about 4 years old, started talking and came up with the idea of creating a portrait out of their own DNA.

"We swabbed both of our mouths to get a sample," Ahmed said.

The samples were sent to a laboratory to get images similar to those seen on the brochure. Then, they put them into their computer, had them printed on canvas and hung them on the wall.

"In a short time, friends and family asked us to make them (portraits) for them," Ahmed said. "So we put up a website as a project, an experiment. We never thought it would be a full-time thing."

Ahmed said it's the personalized aspect of the portraits that make them so appealing.

"It really evokes emotion in the person who purchased it," he said, noting that the split screen featuring two people's DNA is the most popular version. "It could be a married couple or their two kids. It's two people who have an emotional link. It's the modern day family portrait."

Even though each portrait created by the company is unique and uses a person's DNA, which is collected simply by swabbing the inside of a cheek, it doesn't reveal any personal information, Ahmed stressed.

"There are eight specific sequences that are very common, but they are in different locations. We go after those sequences, separate the strands and put them on gel. This is not a forensic-style test. It cannot be used in any kind of testing or security matter," he said.

"There are so many ways for us to visualize DNA," he said. "What we wanted to do was create something with artistic merit."

According to Ahmed, they work with a wet component to get each DNA signature. When working in a gel solution, "DNA gets a very organic look."

In the beginning, Ahmed and Salamunovic contracted with a large biotechnology lab to obtain the DNA sequences. But, as the business grew and the portraits became more popular, they opened their own laboratory and hired their own biochemist to work on each sample.

To help keep people's identities safe, the DNA samples are coded with a six-digit code.

Ahmed said the entire process takes between two and three weeks to complete. DNA portraits are priced from $199 and vary by size and number of people being featured. The portraits also can be given as presents through a collection gift kit or gift card.

The two friends launched their company in mid-July 2005 and it quickly "just blew up," Ahmed said. "It was something very different. No one had offered this commercially before."

Additionally, because they were so passionate about their project, Ahmed said they devoted all their spare time to it. In just a few months, he said they were able to quit their jobs and work on DNA 11 full time.

Then they expanded the business to include artistic portraits of fingerprints and lip prints.

Because they were already printing the portraits on canvas, they started a sister company, CanvasPop, which takes digital pictures from sources such as Instagram and prints them on canvas using the same process as giclee prints.

"There are so many images being taken on an hourly basis. We're giving them something they can touch and feel, quality pieces that will last decades looking exactly the same," Ahmed said.

"CanvasPop is the intersection of social media, the social Web and leveraging them into things that become real. We're turning mobile photographs into artwork. DNA 11 is the cross between science and art," he added.

Although the company's corporate headquarters are in Ottawa, Canada, its production facility is in North Las Vegas.

Between DNA 11, which is selling in more than 50 countries, and CanvasPop, they were shipping 100 pieces of art a day.

"To service our U.S. customers better, we wanted to produce our art in the U.S. We began looking at cities to open a world-class printing facility and Las Vegas was open and welcoming to new business. The energy of the city is amazing." Ahmed said.

Additionally, he said they appreciated the city's service-minded attitude because their companies are extremely customer service oriented.

"We have amazing digital designers," he said. "We pair you individually with a designer in our studio. If you want anything done in the studio, we can do that. We can remove blemishes and totally customize your piece."

Ahmed said each print offered at CanvasPop includes unlimited previews until the piece is exactly as the customer envisions.
"We're all about service. That's why we like Las Vegas so much."

Currently, the companies occupy a 17,000-square-foot facility and have a core group of 15 employees.

For more information, visit www.dna11.com or canvaspop.com