Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
Hey! I've only just stumbled onto the world of mechanical keyboards after seeing them pop up in a lot of my other hobby networks, and it gave me an idea. I'm a game & graphic designer with a love of good world & production design. I've always loved the graphic and production design by Ron Cobb for Alien (1978) and decided to do a layout inspired by his Semiotic Standard design. Yes, there are very littoral extrapolations of his work (re: copies) but I wanted to develop something unique but likely from the same universe (with a pinch of 1982's Blade Runner in there too).
So, I need help making these! I am going to do a first test set at WASD, but beyond that turnkey approach I have no idea how to have a set produced to cover more options. Some questions I need help with:
- Which companies should I contact to have these produced?
- How/where do I organize a group buy?
- What key profile pleases the most people?
- What alternate & extra keys should be included as a minimum?
- Are there any good templates out there for other keycap styles?
- Is there anything else I should know?
Thanks!Richard Flanagan
www.richardeflanagan.com