Design You Can Feel: ASUS Brings Emotion Back to Technology at Dubai Design Week 2025

You don’t usually feel a laptop. You type on it, scroll through it, maybe admire how thin it is - and then move on. But ASUS wants to change that.

At Dubai Design Week 2025 (November 4–9), following its European debut at Milan Design Week (April 8–13), the leading laptop brand unveiled “Design You Can Feel,” an immersive exhibition that invited visitors to touch, sense, and emotionally connect with technology. It wasn’t just about showing off the world’s lightest Copilot+ PC, the Zenbook A14, or the Zenbook Ceraluminium Signature Edition - it was a statement that the next generation of laptops should be designed not only for performance, but also for how they make us feel.

“We believe in the power of sensory experiences to forge meaningful connections with design,” says Coraline Lin, Marketing Director of ASUS. “It’s all about crafting products that allow each user to feel and make good use of our innovations.”

Material That Feels Alive

Central to this story is Ceraluminium - a breakthrough material that looks like ceramic yet performs like aluminium. It’s 30% lighter, 3X stronger, and significantly more resistant to scratches and fingerprints.

“Ceraluminium offers the nature-inspired hue and sophisticated touch reminiscent of natural stone or pottery,” Lin explains. “This aligns with the Zen ideal of finding beauty in simple, natural forms. The goal was to create a finish that is pleasing to the touch and the eye, moving beyond the cold feel of standard metal.”

The process behind Ceraluminium is meticulous - more akin to crafting a luxury timepiece than assembling a laptop. “You can only see this advanced, detailed process in luxury watchmaking or aerospace manufacturing,” Lin adds. “It elevates the laptop from a simple electronic device to a piece of carefully crafted wearable technology.”

In the UAE, where craftsmanship and permanence are deeply valued, this tactile, enduring finish resonates on a cultural level. “This focus on longevity and quality aligns perfectly with the cultural value placed on goods that are built to last,” she says.

When AI Shapes Design

But ASUS’s design philosophy isn’t just about material innovation, it’s also about intelligent empathy.

“We’re seeing a rapid convergence between AI and industrial design,” Lin notes. “ASUS uses its proprietary feedback system with AI to integrate global customer insights instantly, allowing us to micro-tune every detail - from thermal performance and keycap texture to visual and sound quality.”

AI isn’t only enhancing product performance; it’s shaping form, feel, and even emotional response. Through data-driven simulations, ASUS can predict how a surface should feel under the fingertips or how sound should respond in a specific environment - turning every detail into an opportunity for personalisation.

Designing for Human Experience

According to ASUS research, 68% of users work with multiple screens, and 90% find it difficult to manage them in certain scenarios. Meanwhile, 31% express concern about the heavy weight of dual-screen laptops.

“While some brands design products for broad appeal, ASUS takes a different path,” Lin says. “We prioritise understanding individual feelings and desires and let this desirability define our craft.”

Each Zenbook is tailored for a specific lifestyle:

• DUO for multitaskers

• S for mobile professionals

• A for urban commuters

“You will feel something different and unique in each Zenbook,” Lin says. “Since all AI experiences are leaning toward being personal, we believe it is extremely crucial to create a truly personalised experience for every distinct user.”

The Human Side of Innovation

Looking ahead, ASUS’s vision for design remains grounded in its timeless philosophy: “Inspired by nature. Inspired by human nature.”

Lin believes this approach will define the future of laptop design - one that merges tactile materials, sensory intelligence, and human emotion. “It’s not just about power or performance anymore,” she reflects. “It’s about how technology makes you feel, every time you touch it.”