Asus’ Design You Can Feel exhibition opens on April 8 in Milan

Asus’ Design You Can Feel exhibition is opening at Milan Design Week 2025. The show explores materiality, craftsmanship, artificial intelligence, and blurs the lines that separate them to encapsulate the design inspiration behind Asus products, specifically highlighting the latest Zenbook lineup.

Situated under the curved glass ceilings of Galleria Meravigli in the heart of the historic city, the showcase will run from April 8 to 13 and is open to the public from 10AM to 6PM — for free.

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Studio INI and Asus

An artistic installation to celebrate the Zenbook

Asus

Under the gorgeous glass ceiling of Galleria Meravigli, a historic 1920s gallery in the heart of the fashion-centric city, a specially commissioned sculpture runs in semi-transparent wing-like panels. In collaboration with Studio INI, this exhibition, called ‘Willful Wonder,’ captures the essence of the Zenbook by abstractly merging its unique materials (Asus’ patented Ceraluminum), craftsmanship, intuitive movement, and — of course — artificial intelligence. The result is an incredible biomimetic (or imitating biological systems) installation that resembles wings sprawling before you.

When I first approached the sculpture, the art seemed to be both reflecting and absorbing the light — the first trick of the senses visitors encounter. From the outside, you can watch visitors walk along a pathway between the wing-like panels made of Ceraluminum, which were actually in a semi-transparent honeycomb pattern. As someone walks the path, the panels open up to let them pass through, and close behind them as they go on. The idea is inspired by the sensitive trigger mechanisms of particular plants.

Asus

So what about AI? “As people walk through the installation and touch the Ceraluminum, each touch will be recorded by the changes in its conductivity. So, people will be able to see a spatial representation of their behavior in the installation,” Studio INI explains. The installation actually records and responds dynamically to your movements, which makes each visitor part of the art itself.

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“At Studio INI, we seek to create what we call an embodied intelligence in our designs — we create a seamless connection between built architecture and the human element,” said Studio INI founder Nassia Inglessis. The sculpture fuses technology, aesthetics, and humans, and without one of those elements contributing, the installation wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. It’s a testament and celebration of Asus’ commitment to innovation, cutting-edge engineering, materials inspired by nature, and meticulous design. Put all that together, and you get high-performing, lightweight, and resilient devices that change as we interact with them.

Design Thinking

The Asus inspiration

Asus

The second part of the exhibition is where Asus shows off its latest innovations and the stories behind them. The entire exhibition is playful and interactive, encouraging everyone to go hands-on with the devices to feel the lightness, texture, and duality of the Zenbooks as well as the unique fragrance computer, Adol. The exhibition also nods to the unique style of ROG.

The display aims to inspire you to think about folding each product into your daily life. When I got my hands on the Zenbook DUO and its double screen, I was somewhat tempted to get a unit of my own just so I could keep my hands on it forever. In my line of journalism, the more screens, the better. I probably wouldn’t use all five modes at my disposal (I’m somewhat stubborn with my workflows and don’t change them all too much), but even just knowing that they’re there adds a little pep to my productivity-step.

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“At our core, we believe in the power of sensory experiences to forge meaningful connections with design. It’s all about crafting products that allow each user to feel and make good use of our innovations,” said H.W. Wei, Associate VP of Asus Design Center.

Asus leans into a human-centric approach to its devices, prioritizing each user’s needs and personal experiences. Sure, the aesthetics are satisfying and beautiful, but they also address real challenges — each device is intuitive, practical, and meaningful in every aspect of its design. Talk about practical.

Ceraluminum Signature Edition Zenbook series

An ode to nature

Asus

The third and final part of the showcase was the highly anticipated Zenbook Ceraluminum Signature Edition series. Comprised of four limited-edition Zenbooks, each chassis is designed with a particular natural landscape in mind and celebrates the convergence of technology with natural materials.

Ceraluminum is exactly what it sounds like — ceramicized aluminum. Asus began refining this compound back in 2019, and it’s the equivalent of modern-day alchemy that boasts both the strength and malleability of metal and the resilience and hardness of ceramic, all while staying remarkably lightweight.

The new limited edition Zenbooks include:

• Obsidian Black
• Pamukkale White
• Terra Mocha
• Luminous Blue

Ceraluminum itself is created through an electrochemical process that is 100% recyclable and environmentally friendly — it doesn’t need any heavy metals, strong acids, or organic materials. But just because the process is environmentally friendly doesn’t mean Asus compromised on quality or durability. In fact, Ceraluminum is actually more durable and fracture-resistant than other traditionally coated or treated metals — specifically, three times higher more fracture-tough and 30% lighter than anodized aluminum.

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Design You Can Feel

You can feel it, alright

Asus

I have to say, Asus knocked it out of the park with this exhibition. The company did a fantastic job encapsulating a human-centric experience with technology and materials. ‘Willful Wonder’ achieved something that we often have a hard time articulating with words — the patterns of our behaviors and actions. It was a thoughtful representation of how we interact with technology much of the time.

Sure, I could go hands-on with Ceraluminum and describe the sensation of it in my hands, but I could also tell you that you’d be able to feel the intention of bridging humans, technology, and nature together, and I think it’s a unique mission with Asus leading the charge. I’d love to see other tech leaders follow suit and try to lead technology in a direction that fosters more connections to each other as well as the natural world around us, rather than keeping users’ heads in the cloud.