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I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

electronicmaterialsoffice.com

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Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#591

Post by aemerson_ »

maratc wrote: post #496

I've been looking a lot at keyboards but have spent $0 on keyboards so far. This is the first keyboard I may actually consider buying. For a change, it looks like it has been designed by a person who actually digs typing. I don't care about clickyness, or what switches does it have. This keyboard is the first I've seen that has a design that will actually allow finding keys by touching and feeling them, not by lookin…

Interesting point on the arrow keys. On Altar I you can "feel" the arrow area since the arrows are dished but the keys around it are raised.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#592

Post by danbee »

I love so much about this! A few thoughts:

I love that it's a proper UK mac layout. This is so hard to find in the mechanical keyboard world.

I'm not sure about the mix of key profiles. I'm sure you've tested it (or are testing it) but I think a version where every key had the same profile as the modifiers would be stellar.

The rotary encoder is cool, but sticks out way too much. I'd buy a keyboard like this to be portable, and the encoder gets in the way of that.

I'd love a ctrl keycap to replace the capslock as I always map that, but that wouldn't be a dealbreaker.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#593

Post by HEI-Points »

chrismarlow9 wrote: post #529
freedomben wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 2. I wish there was a 'blank' version with zero typography anywhere. Just all black. I touch-type and have not looked at my keyboard in 15 years. If you don't look at it, why do you care if it has typography? (that's an honest question, not a rhetorical point dressed up as a question)

I had the same curiosity about offering a blank keyboard because I've been using one for 8 years or so after it was recommended by a former co-worker who I have huge respect for. So I'll give it a shot to explain the difference after I got adjusted to it: I did not realize that my brain was still wired to look at the keyboard periodically, specifically when dealing with special characters and really anything outside…

I'm stealing piano analogy, thanks. I bought a blank keyboard half as a joke and ended up finding labeled ones slightly harder to use

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#594

Post by aemerson_ »

yitchelle wrote: post #72

Do you have the specs (for the bluetooth use case) on how long a fully charge battery would last before a recharge is needed?

Still TBC, but it should be around 3 months between charges with normal use. More accurate numbers to come later.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#595

Post by HEI-Points »

Festro wrote: post #2

Looks really nice BUT: There's a split between what people online post pics of on fancy desktop setups and what people prefer to use as their daily driver. Minimal keyboards are for minimalists, and people who like to show of their setups. Just like desktop vanity posts typically have speakers, yet everyone uses headphones. Anecdotally there was a post recently on some PC subreddit asking what keyboard people preferr…

I'm full time remote and I use my 35% (or whatever) minimal keyboard every day. I can throw it in my bag, go around the house, neighborhood, world and have a decent set of keys.

Not like there aren't a lot of "Instagram keyboards" out there but a smaller keyboard leaves more room on the desk for snacks.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#596

Post by HEI-Points »

elliotpage wrote: post #117
mromanuk wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More Website advice: - the text is too big - Add padding to text and images - Add space between elements (look crowded) - too much moving stuff: Loose the marquee text Pictures and videos looks awesome, the product looks superb, love the concept of having different height for keys. Congratulations on your launch!

I am sorry, but I strongly disagree. The Marquee text is what catapulted the site from "This is nice" to "This is Art" for me. But then again I am more viewing the page as a piece of performance art than an actual attempt to sell me a keyboard!

I haven't seen marquee text without an "Under construction!" .gif in quite a long time. It's tacky.

Even if you disagree the constant motion is objectively bad for people with attention impairments ("cognitive accessibility").

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#597

Post by HEI-Points »

aemerson_ wrote: post #387
seanbarry wrote: post #229

There's a lot of criticism in the comments here, some of it feels very negative. I can imagine reading it as the OP is quite demoralising. Personally I think what the OP has achieved is very impressive. The design looks beautiful, and there's a very "Apple-esque" feel to the website. I love that sustainability has been made a requirement as part of the design. I think some of the other comments give good feedback abo…

Thanks, I'm so happy you — and lots of others — like what I've been working on. It means a lot, it's very fulfilling. I don't find the criticism demoralising. Quite the opposite, it means people are engaged, which I love. I tried to create a product with a strong design and as a result it's quite divisive. That's okay. Good, even. I put this thing up on the internet and asked for peoples opinions... and that's what I…

> I tried to create a product with a strong design and as a result it's quite divisive

Respect you attitude! Keyboards specifically are a place where there's no one-size-fits-all product (especially among enthusiasts) and making bold choices is how we get drastic change

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#599

Post by domador »

D13Fd wrote: post #105

Thoughts: - Excellent job - The font choices are bold. They don’t appeal to me personally, but nice job. - The sunk/raised key caps look nice but I’m not sure how they would perform in practice. - I couldn’t tell from the website what the second switch on the site does. Maybe USB/Bluetooth? - My strong preference is a key command for switching from Bluetooth/USB, and that the keyboard keep both active for instant swi…

Why do you feel a need to emphasize the number keys and the section sign by giving their characters such a disproportionately large size than other keys? And why do you feel a need to deemphasize the function keys by giving them such a small font size? I very much dislike these choices.

I can't really tell if the numbers are in a different font than the rest of the keys, but if they are, I'd dislike that too. Please use a single font for the whole keyboard.

Aesthetics are a major selling point for your keyboard, so I think you need to spend more time and get expert advice about the fonts.

Finally, this is evidently a Mac-oriented keyboard, given how the control keys are labeled. If you plan to target the Windows market, you may wish to provide layouts with Windows-oriented control keys that are labeled as such (namely Ctrl, Alt, and the Windows key, or something that looks like the Windows key.)

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