Design You Can Feel showcase opens during Milan design week

Visitors can walk through a kinetic installation by Studio INI that dynamically responds to movement at Dezeen and ASUS Zenbook's Design You Can Feel showcase during Milan design week.

Taking place as part of Milan design week from 8 to 13 April 2025, the event explores the themes of materiality, craftsmanship and artificial intelligence (AI).

Housed beneath the curved glass ceiling of Galleria Meravigli, a historic 1920s gallery in the heart of Milan, the event is free to attend and open daily from 10:00am to 6:00pm.

The themes of Design You Can Feel are encapsulated by a specially commissioned installation by Studio INI, an experimental design and research studio founded by Nassia Inglessis.

Called Willful Wonder, the interactive structure features large, semi-transparent panels that open and close in response to movement. As visitors walk along its central axis, the panels shift dynamically to create a fluid, undulating effect.

As visitors traverse across the installation, they are invited to touch the edges of each wing, which are composed of aluminium honeycomb and ASUS's proprietary Ceraluminum material.

Ceraluminum is a material developed by ASUS for its Zenbook laptops, which combines aluminum's lightweight nature with the durability of ceramics through an innovative ceramisation process that eliminates volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals, resulting in a 100 per cent recyclable material.

Touch sensors in the wings relay information to a generative AI model that interprets visitor interactions into a screen-based visualisation of the installation.

Building on Studio INI's expertise in creating experiential public artworks, the kinetic and biomimetic installation draws inspiration from the ASUS Zenbook, known for its innovative, lightweight design.

The installation mirrors Zenbook's slim silhouette by sculpting lightness and mimicking nature's sensitive triggering mechanisms, creating a poetic interplay of revealing and concealing movements.​

Also featured in the showcase are the latest ASUS products and the stories behind them via playful interactive exhibits that demonstrate what the brand describes as its "design thinking".

The area showcases a range of ASUS laptops, with each design catering to the specific needs of its target user.

There is the lightness and slimness of Zenbook, with visitors able to feel its tactile and durable Ceraluminum case, the outdoor functionality of ProArt and the bold styling of ROG ACRONYM.

The exhibits emphasise the importance of sensory experiences in design.

"At our core, we believe in the power of sensory experiences to forge meaningful connections with design," ASUS said.

"It's all about crafting products that allow each user to feel and make good use of our innovations."

On show for the first time, ASUS has also presented four exclusive limited editions of its Zenbook laptop, which are clad in the brand's tactile Ceraluminum material.

Each device in the Ceraluminum Signature Edition series features a unique Ceraluminum finish that draws inspiration from natural landscapes around the world: the volcanic terrain of Iceland; the mineral-rich thermal waters of Pamukkale, Turkey; the sandstone cliffs and dunes of Wadi Rum, Jordan; and the bioluminescent shores of the Maldives.

The Design You Can Feel showcase marks the second collaboration between Dezeen and ASUS Zenbook, building on the success of last year's Design You Can Feel installation during London Design Festival.

Design You Can Feel will run from 8 to 13 April at Galleria Meravigli. Find out more information including opening times at: dezeen.com/designyoucanfeel.

For press enquiries, email Chloe Boucouvalas at chloe.b@alphakilo.com or Walker Drummond at walker.d@alphakilo.com.

The photography is by Mark Cocksedge.

Milan design week takes place from 7 to 13 April 2025. See our Milan design week 2025 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.

Partnership content

Design You Can Feel is a partnership between Dezeen and ASUS Zenbook. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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