Fanimation designs can be classified into three categories: those inspired by nature, those inspired by fans throughout history, and those inspired by perceptions of the future. The natural fans include models with hand-caved wood blades and housings designed to resemble a log cabin, models with palm leaf blades, fans constructed of bamboo, canvas, oars, stained glass, almost every imaginable material. The historical fans include replicas of early belt-drive fan systems, ornate and art deco designs, ceiling fans modeled after antique desk fans, and incorporation's of their trademark palm leaf design into antique fan designs. One remarkable example is a fan with vertically moving palm leaves designed to simulate an early design of fan from 1500s in which canvas paddles were pulled by servants. Fanimation's modern designs push the envelope of what constitutes a ceiling fan, and include asymmetrical models with only one blade, galvanized steel with halogen spotlights, even designs where the blades appear to be floating in midair.