Bronze Home Appliances Design · 2025
Serena Anti-gravity Humidifier
by Kexin Su
- A' Design Award 2025 Bronze Winner in Home Appliances Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: LuXun Academy of Fine Arts
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 20,174
- Verification code 40C7994B1F · Verify this award
About Serena Anti-gravity Humidifier
Serena is a humidifier designed for modern homes. Serena creates the illusion of water droplets flowing upwards, against gravity. The effect is based on the principle of visual persistence, achieved by synchronizing a miniature water pump with the strobe of LED lights. The transparent shell has high light transmittance, which strengthens the visual effect. Serena measures 478 mm in height and 260 mm in diameter. A touch screen and a smart control panel allow the speed and brightness of the returning liquid to be set. Serena adds humidity to indoor air and also acts as a decorative object.
Mingxi Li's Serena Anti-gravity Humidifier represents a compelling achievement in contemporary home appliance design, positioning functional technology within aesthetic traditions that honor both modernist reduction and material expressiveness, the work demonstrates sophisticated understanding of visual communication through industrial form, employing geometric purity and chromatic restraint to elevate a utilitarian domestic object into the realm of considered design worthy of sustained appreciation, the cylindrical primary form with its commanding vertical presence suggests architectural column traditions while embracing the clean geometric vocabulary established by mid-century modernism and refined through decades of consumer electronics evolution, the brushed metallic surface treatment achieves dual objectives, signaling quality through material choice and finish precision while creating a neutral ground that allows the singular burgundy accent to command attention without competition, this chromatic strategy, deploying one saturated hue against a field of sophisticated neutrals, recalls the selective color principles employed by designers working within minimalist frameworks where restraint amplifies impact, the circular aperture penetrating the cylinder's body at a visually harmonious height establishes the design's conceptual and formal center, this void functions simultaneously as viewing window into the humidification process, as compositional focal point organizing the vertical arrangement, and as symbolic threshold between exterior technological form and interior natural phenomenon, the burgundy transparent material lining this aperture introduces warmth and organic resonance into an otherwise cool industrial palette, suggesting the presence of life-sustaining water within precision-engineered housing, the suspended droplets visible within this chamber represent the design's most poetically charged element, these spherical water forms arrested in descent create a moment of wonder, transforming the routine mechanical process of humidification into a contemplative visual experience that rewards observation, the anti-gravity effect suggested by the suspended droplets introduces an element of apparent impossibility, engaging viewer curiosity and inviting questions about the technological achievement enabling this phenomenon, whether ultrasonic levitation, precisely timed photography, or optical illusion, the effect succeeds in elevating the mundane into the realm of the remarkable, the textured lower register introducing geometric pattern through perforation or grille work demonstrates attention to comprehensive surface articulation, ensuring that even functional elements such as ventilation or acoustic openings receive considered aesthetic treatment, the single burgundy control element positioned above this textured zone provides intuitive operational suggestion while maintaining visual rhyme with the primary aperture, establishing coherent design language across all interactive and expressive surfaces, the overall composition achieves what distinguished industrial design aspires to, the seamless integration of form and function where aesthetic decisions serve operational clarity and technological requirements generate opportunities for visual refinement, this work invites consideration of how everyday domestic objects shape our living environments, how design excellence in functional objects contributes to daily quality of life, and how technological innovation can be housed in forms that bring both practical benefit and visual pleasure, one might contemplate how the arrested water droplets visible through the burgundy aperture create a focal point for meditation in domestic space, how the presence of carefully designed objects influences our relationship with the technologies that sustain contemporary comfort, and how material choices and formal refinement communicate values of quality, durability, and thoughtful making in an era of accelerated consumption.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- TBased on the principle of visual persistence, the weightless humidifier uses LED lights and precise control to create the illusion of liquid backflow, and the magical effect of water droplets forming the opposite direction, enriching the interactive experience of the humidifier. The product has a practical air humidification function and incorporates artistic design, which is suitable for modern home environments and becomes a unique decoration in the space.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The humidifier measures 478 mm in height and 260 mm in diameter
- Tags
- weightless humidifier, optical illusion, interesting design, air humidifier, home decor
- Production Technology
- Visual persistence technology creates the illusion of liquid flowing back through the strobe technology of the LED light source. The miniature water pump and precise water flow control ensure perfect synchronization of water flow stability and light efficiency. The transparent material molding process ensures the delicate light transmittance of the shell and enhances the overall visual effect.
- Design Challenge
- The visual illusion is precisely controlled to ensure that the light and water flow are synchronized to avoid errors in the illusion effect. The water pump and LED light are precisely matched to ensure the visual effect while requiring functional humidification. The material selection is combined with aesthetics, and the shell material needs to have a high light transmittance to meet the aesthetics of modern home design.
- Project Duration
- It starts on May 1, 2022 and ends on June 25, 2022, and is located at Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts
- Operation Flow
- The loss-in-weight humidifier is easy to operate. Users can adjust the function of the humidifier through the touch screen or the smart control panel. The LED lighting effect is synchronized with the operation of the water pump. Users can set the speed and brightness of the liquid return to create a different visual experience.
- Research
- Based on visual phenomena, this study designs and implements a weightless humidifier. By precisely controlling the water flow and the stroboscopic effect of LED lights, it creates a visual illusion of water droplets flowing backwards, which functionally meets the actual needs of air humidification. This study aims to explore the combination of visual art and practical home appliances, and use visual illusion technology to make everyday products interesting and creative.
- Inspiration
- The design is inspired by visual illusion art and the gravity of nature. The design breaks people's cognition of conventional physical phenomena through the backflow of water droplets, creating an artistic effect full of fun and surprises. It takes the phenomenon of visual persistence as the core technology and combines it with the humidification function to bring a new visual experience.
- Patents
- Kexin Su