The principle of a deterministic optimisation algorithm called holographic research strategy (HRS) has been described. It has been demonstrated that in a multidimensional experimental space having around 63 000 potential experimental points less than 200 virtual experiments were sufficient to find the global maximum. The benefits of the use of HRS are as follows: (i) easy application to catalyst library design, (ii) fast method in finding the global optimum, and (iii) good visualisation of a multidimensional experimental space. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.