During Milan Design Week, Asus is bringing perception, interaction and discovery to the spaces of Galleria Meravigli – built in the heart of the city in the late 1920s and combining Art Nouveau and Classicism in its eclectic style – with the “Design you can Feel” project. This is the third stage of a journey that has already taken in Shanghai and London, and in the Milan episode, materiality, craftsmanship and artificial intelligence, pillars of Asus’ design practice, will be expressed in an interactive installation signed by Studio INI, and in the presentation of four limited edition Zenbook Ceraluminum™ laptops with designs inspired by nature.

In the installation “Willful Wonder”, Studio INI, long time active between research and experimental design, metaphorically explores the relationship between man and laptop as an evolutionary system of responses to different impulses. Lightness and natural inspiration are celebrated, amidst perpetual movements that reveal and conceal space in a cyclical progression, but above all the precision of the mechanics and the interactive properties of the materials: the innovative aluminum honeycomb fabric – used in several Nasa spacecraft – and Ceraluminum™, the heart and structure of the new Asus laptops. The discovery of this material through touch is the AI heart of the installation, which uses its sensors to track users’ tactile interactions, and the collected data collected to generate artificial intelligence-driven representations of their behavior.
At the core of our work, we believe in the power of sensory experiences to create meaningful connections with design. It’s about crafting products that allow every user to perceive and make the most of our innovations”, said H.W. Wei, Associate Vice President of ASUS Design Center.
Interaction and perception thus become a doorway through which to grasp the concrete and disruptive core of Asus’ research: in what the company sees as a holistic approach to design – based on the ideas of “Inspired”, “Immersive”, “Intuitive”, “Quiet” and “Secure” – the emotional, even physical bond between user and device is the conduit towards a broader meaning of the concept of natural inspiration: nature is translated not only into aesthetics, but also into the materials, production processes and lifecycle sustainability of Asus laptops.

The mission is to create instruments that will last as long as the landscapes that inspire them, and Ceraluminum™ is the tool to ensure the success of such endeavor.
This high-tech ceramic, the result of four years of experimentation, is created by immersing an aluminum chassis in a solution of pure water and minerals at high temperature, and then subjecting it to high-voltage electrical discharges. The result is a “ceramicized” material that is still lightweight but ten times more resistant to fracture than ceramic and three times more resistant than anodized aluminum itself. A process that transforms the deep structure of the molecules, maximizing performance while exploring the terrain of lower environmental impact in terms of components and materials: color and porosity are controlled through electricity, voltage and mineral formula – so no pigments are involved in the process – while the acids normally used to anodize aluminum are replaced by the pure water of the new high-voltage process. The material is 100% recyclable as the process eliminates organic compounds, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals from the effluent.
In addition to the Zenbook Ceraluminum™, other Asus models such as the ProArt, Adol, Vivobook and Rog Acronym laptops will be on display at the exhibition, completing a range based on interactivity and a holistic approach to design and its role in the human sphere.
- Event:
- Design You Can Feel, Studio Ini per Asus
- Location:
- Galleria Meravigli, via Gaetano Negri 6, Milan
- Opening dates and times:
- 8 april 10.00am -5.00pm, 9- 13 april 10.00am -6.00pm

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