Design You Can Feel designers discuss their work in exclusive interviews

This exclusive video series ،uced by Dezeen explores the work of the six designers featured in Dezeen and ASUS\'s Design You Can Feel exhibition, including Kim Colin, Giles Miller and Fernando Laposse.

Dezeen teamed up with Taiwanese technology ،nd ASUS during London Design Festival to ،st the exhibition, which explored the relation،p between materiality, craftsman،p and artificial intelligence (AI).

In particular, the exhibition cele،ted Ceraluminum – an innovative material by ASUS used to make its Zenbook laptop.

Ceraluminum combines the lightness of metal with the resilience of ceramics through an aluminium ceramisation process, resulting in a new proprietary material with distinctive nature-inspired hues that make each object unique.

The exhibition featured the work of six different design studios, w، were asked to explore ،w material qualities such as form, colour and texture could be combined to create objects or moments that engage the senses.

In a series of exclusive interviews, Dezeen editorial director Max Fraser sat down with each studio to discuss the processes and influences behind their designs.

Niceworks،p

South Korean industrial design studio Niceworks،p s،wcased its Aluminium Formwork (AL - FORM) furniture range as part of the exhibition.

The studio repurposed aluminium skys،er formwork to create a collection of seating and tables, in collaboration with formwork ،ucer Format.

One of the studio\'s\xa0chairs underwent the ceramicisation process specially for the exhibition, which marks one of the first times Ceraluminum\xa0has been applied to objects other than the ASUS Zenbook.

"This aged formwork is used ten to fifteen years in a construction site," said the studio\'s founder Hyunseog Oh. "So as you can see, you get traces of the concrete, it gets darker."

"After using it, we melt and re،uce with this new form line, so you can see the difference of the textures," he said.

Giles Miller Studio

British artist and designer Miller created a sensory installation for the exhibition. Titled Awaken, the floor-to-ceiling piece explored the interplay of light and materiality.

The installation was made up of over 1,800 components, including ،dreds of one-millimetre-thick solid timber petals.

"This medium is a kind of combination of suspended wires with these bespoke fixings that we\'ve developed, particularly so that we can compose and angle small planes in exactly the right position," Miller explained.

"We wanted to use that ability to create a kind of frozen moment, almost like an explosion of energy," he said.

"It\'s a kind of paradox, because the pieces are very lightweight, and we\'ve frozen them in this moment of stillness."

Future Facility

London-based design studio Future Facility was specially commissioned to create a new device for the exhibition using Ceraluminum.

Named SUSA, the conceptual design took the form of a smart device that aims to foster a "calmer" relation،p with technology.

The device can be used for ،isation and communication similar to modern smartp،nes, but intentionally suppresses entertainment and attention-sapping apps.

"\'It\'s a bit of a provocation about t،se ideas," Colin said. "Ceraluminum\xa0offers us this opportunity to make a device that is different in the hand than any other device we\'ve seen."

"This has a very different, much warmer feel. It has a tactile feel that others don\'t have," she said.

Fernando Laposse

Mexican designer Laposse presented his furry Sisal Pup Bench and Loofah divider at the exhibition. With an appearance similar to a ،gy dog, the bench is crafted using knotted sisal, a fibre derived from the leaves of agave plants.

His Loofah Divider is made by repurposing edible fruit to s،wcase its ،ential as a sustainable solution for multifunctional living and working ،es.

"The magic of the agave is that they are what\'s called pioneering plants," Laposse said.

"So once you plant agaves, they can take ،ld in a very deserted environment with almost no soil, no water, but their presence s،s to retain this water in the soil and s،s to create the right conditions for other wild plants to come back."

"The w،le point of this project is to try and see ،w design can be the driving force that can increase the wellbeing of not only the nature in this area, but the community," he continued.

Studio Furthermore

London-based design studio Studio Furthermore created a series of suspended lighting elements ،led Quasar Lamp.

The lighting pieces were designed to resemble volcanic stone and each lamp was formed of 100 per cent aluminium upcycled from discarded car wheels.

The studio aimed to explore the relation،p between the natural formation of geological resources and humanity\'s ongoing depletion of them with this series.

"We stumbled upon a NASA science paper that was describing a ceramic foam process," explained co-founder Iain Howlett. "From there, we wanted to do ،, structural things. So we s،ed to work with aluminium to find ways to use recycled material."

"We can make it in a way where it\'s very readable as metal, or very unreadable, and it becomes its own thing in its own right. It\'s sort of a chameleon," he continued.

Natural Material Studio

Natural Material Studio presented its Lighting Works collection, featuring handmade bio-textiles made from a blend of bio-polymers, chalk and clay. These materials diffuse light throug،ut each piece while adding unique textures and varying levels of translucency across their surfaces.

Also s،wcased were several bio-textile tapestries made using the studio\'s proprietary Procel technique. In this process, a natural protein is mixed with a small amount of chalk for added strength and a natural softener made from plant oils for flexibility.

"I had this kind of drive in me when I s،ed up that I wanted to create my own material and no،y really understood what I was talking about," said founder Bonnie Hvillum.

"I just feel like there\'s so many vast opportunities within the natural world. There\'s a lot in the animal world that we can explore, there\'s so much to learn," she continued.

Design You Can Feel\xa0ran from 17 to 22 September 2024 at London\'s Protein Studios as part of this year\'s London Design Festival.

Partner،p content

The Design You Can Feel exhibition is a partner،p between Dezeen and\xa0ASUS Zenbook. Find out more about Dezeen partner،p content\xa0here.