ASUS Zenbook Launch Debut Exhibition “Design You Can Feel” During London Design Festival 2024

A showcase of material innovation, craftsmanship, and artificial intelligence

• The Design You Can Feel exhibition is now open and free to the public at Protein Studios in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood from September 17 to 22
• Six product and industrial design studios explore the ways in which form, color, texture can be combined to create objects and moments that awaken the senses
• The exhibition features a specially commissioned piece crafted from Ceraluminum™ by Future Facility

LONDON, United Kingdom, September 20, 2024 — ASUS today announced that the Design You Can Feel exhibition is now open and free to the public at Protein Studios in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood from September 17 to 22, as part of London Design Festival 2024. An exploration of materiality, craftsmanship, and artificial intelligence (AI), the show shines the spotlight on the brand’s innovative and sustainable new Ceraluminum™ material and tells the story behind its Zenbook laptops.

Six product and industrial design studios were selected and commissioned to explore the ways in which form, color, and texture can be combined to create objects and moments that awaken the senses. Each of the pieces in the exhibition – ranging from furniture, lighting, and installation design – speak to these qualities in different ways.

The exhibition features a specially commissioned piece crafted from Ceraluminum by Future Facility, the design and research studio led by distinguished designers Kim Colin, Sam Hecht, and Leo Leitner. This new concept, SUSA, explores the relationship between the digital and physical worlds and asks how artificial intelligence (AI) technology and materiality can combine to create calm and tactile objects, ultimately changing the way we experience digital interfaces.

In addition, an aluminum lounge chair by Seoul-based design studio Niceworkshop has undergone the ceramicisation process. Both projects are the first time Ceraluminum has been applied to objects other than the ASUS Zenbook laptop.

Design You Can Feel also showcases future-focused works from designers Fernando Laposse, Giles Miller Studio, Natural Material Studio, and Studio Furthermore.

Throughout the exhibition, the natural beauty of the Ceraluminum material comes to life. Sand dunes sculpted throughout the space create an immersive environment, defining pathways for exploration and the journey between the aesthetics of the natural world and new technologies.

The exhibit culminates with an interactive zone where visitors can get a hands-on experience of the latest ASUS Zenbook series. These thin and light ultraportable premium laptops feature advanced AI tools and are clad in the proprietary Ceraluminum material. The light and durable material can be used to create unique, everlasting designs.

Discover Ceraluminum

Step into the world of Ceraluminum, a high-tech ceramicised material that’s revered by the aerospace and luxury watch industries. This is an industry first innovation, which ASUS has invested four years into fine tuning the precise colors, texture, and hardness. No pigment is added throughout the entire process, the distinct colors and porosity are precisely controlled by electric current, voltage, and mineral formula. As a result, it offers unmatched scratch resistance and longevity, with a unique look that pays homage to the natural world that inspired its creation.

Additionally, Ceraluminum provides a more sustainable material that is less hazardous to the environment, substituting the acids traditionally employed for aluminum anodization for a new higher voltage method which uses pure water. The process eliminates organic compounds, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals from the wastewater, resulting in 100% recyclable material. Learn more about the Ceraluminum process here: https://youtu.be/9cypFEe7-Fg?si=wBR6wUsqGO5x3Yom.

To learn more about the ASUS Zenbook, please visit: https://www.asus.com/laptops/for-home/zenbook/

Future Facility 

@futurefcaility | http://futurefacility.tech

Future Facility is a London-based design and research studio led by distinguished designers Kim Colin, Sam Hecht, and Leo Leitner. They have worked with ASUS to craft a future concept of an interactive device based on the concept of “calm technology”, which uses AI to alter the balance of technology. Their commission, SUSA, is designed to provide a more reflective experience – housed within a unique, tactile Ceraluminum body – as an interface between the digital and physical worlds.

Fernando Laposse

@fernandolaposse | https://www.fernandolaposse.com/  

Fernando Laposse is a Mexican designer focusing on transforming humble materials into refined design pieces, promoting their regenerative possibilities, tackling environmental issues, and interrogating the state of our agricultural systems. Laposse works with sisal, a fiber derived from the leaves of the agave plant, which after washing and drying, he turns into a unique material that can be knotted to showcase its natural raw state.

Giles Miller Studio

@gilesmiller | https://gilesmiller.com/  

Giles Miller’s unique harnessing of materials and light, brings sensory, acoustic, and emotional benefits which positively impact the viewer’s state of wellbeing. Fusing technology with the handmade, the resulting artistry of meticulously arranged components creates richness, tactility, depth, and allure.

Natural Material Studio

@natural.material.studio | https://naturalmaterialstudio.com/  

Founded by Bonnie Hvillum in 2019, Natural Material Studio is a design practice that creates bespoke designs and spatial installations using self-developed biomaterials. With a circular and sustainable approach, they research, design, and produce materials based on natural and leftover components. The studio has recently started working on a design series with bio-textiles and bio-foam and is at the forefront of bio-material experimentation.

Niceworkshop

@niceworkshop_ | https://niceworkshop.net/  

Niceworkshop is a design studio based in Seoul founded by Hyunseog Oh in 2021. The studio has created a furniture series using aluminum formwork originally used for pouring concrete in large-scale buildings, with materials sourced from the upcycling brand FORMAT. They are exploring ways to give new form and relevance to the material, extending the life of the formwork and creating collectible items with enduring value.

Studio Furthermore

@studiofurthermore | https://www.studiofurthermore.com/  

Studio Furthermore is a London-based design duo founded by Marina Dragomirova and Iain Howlett in 2015. The studio makes a variety of one-off objects from materials inspired by processes occurring in nature, and which are designed to endure, responding to contemporary concerns of material scarcity. Each of the metal Moon Rock objects features a unique pattern of holes that is unrepeatable, making every piece a one-off, similar to ASUS's Ceraluminum material. For this exhibition, Studio Furthermore continued their material exploration of aluminum with their Quasar pendant lights.