Keyboard Color Symmetry

[Hypersphere]

What are your preferences regarding color symmetry on keyboards?

To start, here are some examples of just the main typing area:

Standard scheme

Standard.JPG (39.23 KiB) Viewed 5780 times

Symmetrical Mods+

ColorSym1.JPG (39.41 KiB) Viewed 5780 times

Symmetrical Mods+ and Spacebar

ColorSym+Space1.JPG (39.22 KiB) Viewed 5780 times

Red Accent

ColorSym-RedAccent1.JPG (38.59 KiB) Viewed 5780 times

Balanced Red Accent

ColorSym-Red-Red.JPG (38.63 KiB) Viewed 5780 times

I am especially curious about accents. For example, it is currently possible to purchase an add-on set for the HHKB that includes a Red Ctrl key (in the traditional CapsLock position), but the set does not include a red Return for balance. Do you feel a need to balance the Red Ctrl, or can you accept it as an accent, such as having a Red Esc key with no counterbalancing red key somewhere else?

[Engicoder]

Nitpick: With the standard layout and key sizes, you can't have true symmetry. Ignoring that, for the classic white/gray color scheme, My preference is to have keys that generate a printable character be white and all others be gray. That rule doesn't completely cover Tab, however. Therefore, Standard scheme is what I would choose.

[Chyros]

I don't associate keyboards with symmetry at all xD .

[seebart]

I don't associate keyboards with symmetry at all xD .

You'll have to prove that in your next video review.

[Hypersphere]

Yes, I realize that the pattern of keys on a "standard" keyboard form at best a quasi-symmetry. Even so, I seem to need mod-color on the spacebar and all the way up on both sides. However, I am always undecided about accent colors, such as a Red Esc. I am also influenced by my preference for the HHKB layout -- the Backslash key serves as my Backspace key.

[scottc]

On a 60%, I always put escape on the upper-left key which makes the board reasonably symmetrical if using a classic two-tone keyset. Unfortunately the |\ key is often the brighter of the two tones which throws symmetry off somewhat. At the same time, I often use a brightly-coloured escape key which isn't symmetrical at all, so I suppose it doesn't bother me too much.

[fohat]

I like the symmetry and have toyed with replacing not only Tilde but also the "1" to balance the Backspace.

Although it would be "weird" up close it would be nice from across the room.

[scottc]

That sounds like it would throw me off! Interesting, though. I don't mind the slight imbalance between the left/right -- it's not perfectly symmetrical because of the key sizes, so it doesn't bother me too much.

Interesting point about printable characters, Enigcoder. That makes a lot of sense.

[mars]

I got my blank hhkb just this week,
previously I owned a poker2.

The hhkb keycaps colors are almost perfectly symmetric except for the grey esc, thanks to backspace being over return and so it balances tab on the left side.



Given that the symmetry is already "ruined" by esc, I'm kinda tempted to put a red accent on it.
I kinda like the lightblue esc + red control set they sell, but I feel it's unbalanced (which is what we discuss in this thread after all).

I think I will eventually put two matching keycaps on the esc and fn keys, so to have some kind of balance.
Otherwise, the grey is so unobtrusive so far that my OCD can't really complain.

[Hypersphere]

I got my blank hhkb just this week,
previously I owned a poker2.

The hhkb keycaps colors are almost perfectly symmetric except for the grey esc, thanks to backspace being over return and so it balances tab on the left side.

Spoiler:

Given that the symmetry is already "ruined" by esc, I'm kinda tempted to put a red accent on it.
I kinda like the lightblue esc + red control set they sell, but I feel it's unbalanced (which is what we discuss in this thread after all).

I think I will eventually put two matching keycaps on the esc and fn keys, so to have some kind of balance.
Otherwise, the grey is so unobtrusive so far that my OCD can't really complain.

Likewise, I often do something like this with my HHKB:

hhkb-red-esc2.jpg (45.77 KiB) Viewed 5723 times

[zslane]

Standard + colored Esc and Return.

[Parjánya]

Funny you mentioning symmetry exactly now. I've been thinking about a layout like this:

keyboard-layout(3).jpg (76.82 KiB) Viewed 5718 times

The asymmetry of the navigation cluster bothers me, but I haven't thought about how to solve it just yet... perhaps another 3 columns of keys on the left? It would make the keyboard too wide, I'm afraid.

[Muirium]

My taste is readily apparent…



Accent the Esc and Return keys. And ruthlessly purge the idiotic inconsistencies like backtick and backslash! There's no perfection on fundamentally asymmetric keyboards (hello staggering) but the chase is asymptotic.

[Parjánya]

Both are gorgeous, still not the platonic Idea of a keyboard... I dislike specially the backspace being 2u long, ruining the "stepped" column of mods.

[Muirium]

Yeah, 2u backspace is so dumb. The HHKB handles that so much better. Why stretch over backspace all the time? Simply make it the already oversized key immediately above Return. Done!

[zslane]

Well, we might as well bitch about QWERTY in general if we're going to complain about the positioning of keys (like Backspace).

I'm with Engicoder. I don't care about symmetry because there is none to be found on an ANSI keyboard to begin with. So I go with the principle that keys that produce stored/printed characters are the "alpha" color, and everything else is the "mod" color. Engicoder calls out the tab key, and I'd be okay with that being the alpha color too. It's just that you don't usually find that as an option in most base kits. I'd also be okay with the *, /, -, and + keys on the numpad being the alpha color, but again, that isn't usually an option except in 7bit's kits. Oh, and this business of alternating colors for the Fn keys is for the birds.

[ReleaseCandidate]

Depends on whether you want to actually use your keyboard or just look at it (that also holds for highlights).

A tab isn't a printable character, it's replaced by a number of spaces.

[Madhias]

Mostly I only like simple color themes, and when there is a color (added to great beige or white or grey caps), it should be only one cap. Could be ESC, RETURN, or CONTROL. Like Muiriums pictures above! Space bar should be the color of the alphas, always.

[Muirium]

I usually agree on the alpha colour spacebar. But mod black on my Graphite NovaTouch worked quite well, for a change.

[scottc]

Depends on whether you want to actually use your keyboard or just look at it (that also holds for highlights).

Oh, I didn't realise these two were mutually exclusive!

[Chyros]

I don't associate keyboards with symmetry at all xD .

You'll have to prove that in your next video review.

Well, what's so symmetrical about this? :p

[Hypersphere]

@Chyros: Good point. On a TKL or full-size, the most symmetrical part of the board is the navigation island taken in isolation from the rest of the keys.

[zslane]

A tab isn't a printable character, it's replaced by a number of spaces.

A tab is ASCII 9. While the "printed" representation looks like a number of horizontal spaces, it is stored/processed as a single character with ASCII code 9. I included the word "stored" for a reason.

[Parjánya]

I would think the focal point of symmetry to be the alphabetic block; the navigation cluster only happens to be there : o ). Also I don't think staggering ruins everything by itself, it has more to do with the areas: if the shape of all mod keys together in either side is equal, or almost, to the other side, I would count it as symmetrical enough.

[Matt_]

I actually like a bit of asymmetry. From this point of view the standard layout is fine, but since I prefer a full 1u top row I find the HHKB scheme even better, especially with a color accent on Esc.

In any case, I don't like when mods on both sides are all the same color from bottom to top (Symmetrical Mods+).

[matt3o]

I'm strongly against symmetry, it bothers me, it makes me itch. I would pick standard scheme + red accent

Specifically in a keyboard color symmetry would be just vanity. And if there's a think that I hate more than symmetry is vanity

[Muirium]

So I have discovered!

[bazh]

talking about symmetry, if you guys are so obsessed with it why nobody creates a perfect symmetry layout yet, I mean you can move the 2nd and 3rd rows (from the bottom) to the right by 0.25x space, no?

[Muirium]

No.

Not unless you can live without all the great caps…

[bazh]

well if it's just for the look then you don't use it so often anyway )