Since no one has really come up with any solid ideas for layout etc I decided to throw some ideas out there.
My mum is into home design and style etc.. and she has a lot of these coffee-table-esk type books that look really nice and are very well made. What we are looking for I assume (well I am). This one in particular is my favorite in many aspects. To begin with it is a perfect size. 26cm tall by 19cm wide.
It also has this brilliant cover.
You see that the cardboard is on the outside instead of the inside, which makes it easy to bend as its not stretching anything and thus wont break the spine like a lot of cheaper hardcovers. It also gives it a unique look among other books. It has modest colours yet isnt boring.
While I think the inside title is a little too busy for what we are doing I like the use of type writer font and think it would be nice to put on the inside of a book on keyboards. Kinda like heritage or something.
It's also got these cool dividing pages for each chapter that are transparent, similar to baking paper. They are neat. I think they'd be cool
They may or may not fit. But I think they are awesome.
It is also the book that I took these photos on.
On the subject of dividing up the book I do think that we should have it separated into each switch type. I think what we should have each chapter begin with is a large macro shot of the switch, edge to edge on the left page and on the right page have a paragraph or few on the switch and its history with a patent design included as to help the reader better understand how the switch works. Here are a few examples of patents.
IBM Buckling Spring
http://www.google.com/patents/US4118611Cherry MX
http://www.google.com/patents/US4467160Alps SKCM Blue
https://www.google.com/patents/US4642433This is where I'm unsure of how to use the transparent dividing paper. Perhaps have a large picture of the patent on the transparent page between a macro of the switch and the description on the right? I will do a few mock ups of the layout that we could use tomorrow. For now I am very tired.
I've also always remembered Zeal's shots of his zealios and how fantastic they were, specifically the book he shot them on. I was instantly hooked on how cool the book looked. I love the type face. Its crisp and clean.
These are also some of my all time favorite shots. They are extremely well composed, have great colour and catch the eye. So I am submitting these also to be included in the book (obviously we will have to get Zeal's permission first of course)
On another note, there will be plenty of shots for each category, and I think maybe a segment at the back for light reading would be nice. Something along the lines of an interview or a story of a few members that are quite prominent. I don't think a build log would really suit this book. That is for the forum. But definitely some nice photos of a build in progress or other work that is done by the community. Perhaps this is something that we can ask of the koreans? Like a few shots of a KMAC/OTD/Corsa etc being milled. Of course also things from mod/build logs themselves, there is plenty of brilliant photos from that category.
Speaking of categories, perhaps something along the lines of this?
-MX (because there are many different kinds now, not just cherry. Perhaps this is something that can be put into the description of the MX switch? i.e. touching on the different varieties?)
-Buckling Spring
-Alps
-Other (Rare or unorthodox switches)
-Community work (i.e. build logs/mod logs)
-Stories etc
-Glossary
I think things like artisans can be included throughout the chapters. We have BS caps, MX caps, Alps caps (perhaps not enough artisans in this area???) and we can include the making of these in a chapter like community work or stories. I don't see the need to dedicate one chapter to them
Finally I think if there are going to be a few volumes of this I think that they should be a gradual thing. i.e. Not released on a schedule. Have a thread open were people can post things that are note worthy in the keyboard community. Not a great deal happens in one year. Especially for keyboards. I think a bit of a history change needs to occur to warrant another one of these being made. They need to be special and very unique, and released when it feels ready.
Also, a lot of these books that my mum has bought are minimum of 45-50 aud. And I don't mind paying more for a quality coffee table piece. I don't want to pay 20 usd dollars for a crap book (not trying to offend OP) that I leave on the coffee table because I love my hobby. I want it to be a book that someone might buy just because its interesting, even if they are not a huge fan of keyboards. We spend hundreds of dollars on caps and HHKB and many more hundreds on custom boards. I'd pay 50 usd for a GREAT book, cause this is a hobby that I enjoy and I'm proud of.
Edit: I will go through a few more of these books and post the layout ideas at a later date