Author Topic: [IC] GMK Pride  (Read 32130 times)

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Offline Blamby

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[IC] GMK Pride
« on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:45:10 »
Hello! I'm launching my first IC for a keycap set that is based on the pride flag!
this idea came to me a long time ago and I started working on it,
I created this set because I want to show my support as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. I want to celebrate their bravery, confidence, positive vibes. I like a lot to make different gifts so I'm glad to start this set to put a big smile on their faces.
I'm so excited to make my dream come true, I would be happy to hear your feedback on how I can further improve this set



Collab announcement:
 ZeusCables and I are actively working on a red cable to make up for the layouts, such as 60% and 65%, that do not allow for the red stripe to be on the board along with the other colors.

Artisan Keycap: TBD

ATTENTION:

The donation will be produced by the vendors to the charity organizations with the amount of 50% of the profit

NA Charity Organization-https://pointfoundation.org/
EU Charity Organization-https://www.ilga-europe.org/donate
Asia Charity Organization-https://www.hrc.org/resources/coming-out-living-authentically-as-lgbtq-asian-and-pacific-islander-america
Australia Charity Organization-https://pridefoundation.org.au/donate/


Kits:


The Base Kit.





And Some Renders.



















GB:
03.11.2020

Pricing:
TBD


IC Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc89rdWwDfnkDkq5p_o8h3zz058cZcsOu10YGvQl-dNpbpEaA/viewform



Special thanks to: Swishy, Liz and all the keycap designer server


Vendors:
NA: Kono
EU: My Keyboard
Asia: Thic Thock
Australia: Daily Clack

Updates:
29.07.2020
So I decided to remove the novelties kit beacuse it would be imposible to include all the symbols that represent the LGBTQ+ community, but will remain the expression "Out And Proud" that represent the strong part of LGBTQ+.
Also I'm waiting to work with vendors to decide on an organization that will help with charities, but will be doing research on organizations

14.08.2020:
Added some new and corrected renders.
24.08.2020:
Arranged and corrected the Base Kit
09.08.20:
Corrected the Base Kit

« Last Edit: Tue, 20 October 2020, 11:07:51 by Blamby »

Offline Blamby

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:46:16 »
reserved

Offline elmo

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:50:14 »
I wouldn't exactly say that the LGBTQ+ community is hated (at least not in most of the western parts of the world).

For the name I think GMK LGBTQ would actually be better.

Nevertheless I like this set. Would buy just for the lolz (and cuz I'm big gay).  ;D
« Last Edit: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:39:36 by elmo »

Offline Slayer77

  • Posts: 372
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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #3 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:51:47 »
So.. basically handerbeit in horizontal rows? I like the idea behind it but not really a creative set.

Sent from my GM1911 using Tapatalk


Offline toastyAU

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #4 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:53:26 »
hey, just wanted to check, are proceeds going towards any particular LGBTQ+ rights organizations/charity funds? That would be a pretty admirable and practical way to support the queer community. Call me cynical, but it might raise some questions from some if you run a GB to support those who are LGBTQ+, but then turn around and keep all profit for personal use.
Dolphin v3 | En Dash | Hyphen | Isla | Zenith | Jules | HHKB Pro 2

Offline juice_pouch

  • Posts: 31
Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:55:53 »
So.. basically handerbeit in horizontal rows? I like the idea behind it but not really a creative set.

Sent from my GM1911 using Tapatalk

GMK Horizontalbeit

Offline Blamby

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:56:44 »
hey, just wanted to check, are proceeds going towards any particular LGBTQ+ rights organizations/charity funds? That would be a pretty admirable and practical way to support the queer community. Call me cynical, but it might raise some questions from some if you run a GB to support those who are LGBTQ+, but then turn around and keep all profit for personal use.
Hey I'm thinking of this, don't know if it's really possible

Offline Ulliam

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:57:30 »
Not lgbtq+, yet plans to profit from them. Novelties seem super ignorant too. Ohhh boy.

Offline jamster

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:57:54 »
I think the term "gender equality" means something else: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_equality

Offline Fredington

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:58:12 »
hey, just wanted to check, are proceeds going towards any particular LGBTQ+ rights organizations/charity funds? That would be a pretty admirable and practical way to support the queer community. Call me cynical, but it might raise some questions from some if you run a GB to support those who are LGBTQ+, but then turn around and keep all profit for personal use.
Hey I'm thinking of this, don't know if it's really possible

Why wouldn't it be possible?

Offline toastyAU

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:59:06 »
hey, just wanted to check, are proceeds going towards any particular LGBTQ+ rights organizations/charity funds? That would be a pretty admirable and practical way to support the queer community. Call me cynical, but it might raise some questions from some if you run a GB to support those who are LGBTQ+, but then turn around and keep all profit for personal use.
Hey I'm thinking of this, don't know if it's really possible

I can't say I have any experience in doing that myself. but it definitely can be done. For example, some proceeds from GMK Coral went to the Coral Reef Alliance, and all proceeds from ePBT Ivory were donated to Save The Elephants. If you're serious about taking up a similar mantle, throw some PMs to the designers of those sets and I'm sure they'd love to help unpack the process
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Offline Blamby

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 07:59:54 »
hey, just wanted to check, are proceeds going towards any particular LGBTQ+ rights organizations/charity funds? That would be a pretty admirable and practical way to support the queer community. Call me cynical, but it might raise some questions from some if you run a GB to support those who are LGBTQ+, but then turn around and keep all profit for personal use.
Hey I'm thinking of this, don't know if it's really possible

Why wouldn't it be possible?
If I'll have vendors, I'll talk with them about this

Offline futurecrime

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:00:07 »
hey, just wanted to check, are proceeds going towards any particular LGBTQ+ rights organizations/charity funds? That would be a pretty admirable and practical way to support the queer community. Call me cynical, but it might raise some questions from some if you run a GB to support those who are LGBTQ+, but then turn around and keep all profit for personal use.
Hey I'm thinking of this, don't know if it's really possible

It's absolutely possible. You work with vendors who support the idea, then you take all the profits and instead of keeping them you give them to charity.

Offline Blamby

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #13 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:01:32 »
hey, just wanted to check, are proceeds going towards any particular LGBTQ+ rights organizations/charity funds? That would be a pretty admirable and practical way to support the queer community. Call me cynical, but it might raise some questions from some if you run a GB to support those who are LGBTQ+, but then turn around and keep all profit for personal use.
Hey I'm thinking of this, don't know if it's really possible

It's absolutely possible. You work with vendors who support the idea, then you take all the profits and instead of keeping them you give them to charity.
Okay I'll try my best

Offline leexy

  • Posts: 207
Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #14 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:04:36 »
I think the term "gender equality" means something else: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_equality

exactly. clicked on this thread expecting something else.

GMK Pride would be a more appropriate name for this set/idea.

Offline harlekein

  • Posts: 464
Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #15 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:05:49 »
I think the term "gender equality" means something else: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_equality

Yeah, this has nothing to do with gender equality. There's probably another term OP is looking for.

Offline Visionaire

  • Posts: 613
Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #16 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:06:16 »
Suggestions:

1. Designate a charity that you're passionate about supporting and send your proceeds to this. It's been done in other sets and seems to be appropriate here (at least how you've setup the backstory)
2. A better name for this might be GMK Pride
3. Don't think the novelties are on point, or needed imo

Offline Blamby

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #17 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:07:54 »
Changed the name of the set to GMK Pride

Offline SlipperyPeteED

  • Posts: 63
Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #18 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:09:47 »
Suggestions:

1. Designate a charity that you're passionate about supporting and send your proceeds to this. It's been done in other sets and seems to be appropriate here (at least how you've setup the backstory)
2. A better name for this might be GMK Pride
3. Don't think the novelties are on point, or needed imo

this exactly. Profiting off of something meant to spread awareness is super disingenuous, the name makes no sense and the novelties need a revision at the very least. that all being said i think the concept is a good one. done properly this could be a cool way to spread awareness and positivity.

Offline NoPunIn10Did

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Re: [IC] GMK Gender Equality
« Reply #19 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:21:08 »
Not lgbtq+, yet plans to profit from them. Novelties seem super ignorant too. Ohhh boy.
I think their heart’s in the right place; they’re just lacking in the execution.

Offline Vigrith

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #20 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:29:55 »
I'm sure there's no ill intent at play, but the sum of a lot of what's laid out (the original name, the novelties, the "they're hated", etc) just turns out pretty uncomfortable to be honest.

Offline jamster

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #21 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:35:12 »
I'm sure there's no ill intent at play, but the sum of a lot of what's laid out (the original name, the novelties, the "they're hated", etc) just turns out pretty uncomfortable to be honest.

Agreed on all of this. Seems like the intention is good, but too many things were wide of the mark.

It would probably be better for a colourway to reflect something the OP was more familiar in order to avoid missteps.

Offline Blamby

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #22 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:37:17 »
Sorry for misunderstooding, I corrected all my mistakes i could do for now

Offline GaNeBaL

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #23 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 08:40:07 »
I suggest you reach out and work with a vendor to help you sort out the donation plans.
Obsessed with 60%TKLs

Offline riding_qwerty

  • Posts: 1
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #24 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 09:07:44 »
Possibly a silly idea, and not sure if/how it'd drive up costs, but maybe instead of plain white lettering you could use the white/pink/cyan/brown/black from a "modern pride flag" -- either assigning a specific letter color to each keycap color (pink on blue, brown on yellow, etc), or try to emulate the "chevron" pattern in some way.


Offline Blamby

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #25 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 09:09:14 »
Possibly a silly idea, and not sure if/how it'd drive up costs, but maybe instead of plain white lettering you could use the white/pink/cyan/brown/black from a "modern pride flag" -- either assigning a specific letter color to each keycap color (pink on blue, brown on yellow, etc), or try to emulate the "chevron" pattern in some way.

Show Image

Thank you for a good idea, I'll try

Offline jamster

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #26 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 09:13:53 »
This is still essentially Handerbeit.

Offline Julia

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #27 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 09:50:49 »
Big fan of the blue! If you ever make a set with that color, I'd be interested!

Offline MdotMaxson

  • Posts: 274
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #28 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 10:13:31 »
Ahhhhh a LGBT set by a non lgbt who is seeking their acceptance. Surprised this didn’t happen until 2020

Offline kokugatsu

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #29 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 10:26:34 »
Would like to see non-binary symbols for novelties.

Offline Paputcher

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #30 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 10:45:47 »
Ahhhhh a LGBT set by a non lgbt who is seeking their acceptance. Surprised this didn’t happen until 2020
i don't think that's a problem tho, he just want to support them
« Last Edit: Mon, 27 July 2020, 10:51:40 by Paputcher »

Offline danieljgrouse

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #31 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:02:16 »
Ahhhhh a LGBT set by a non lgbt who is seeking their acceptance. Surprised this didn’t happen until 2020
i don't think that's a problem tho, he just want to support them
Well, it's not much of a support if the money goes into his pocket. In general profiting off of support for a marginalised group one doesn't belong to without any of the money going to that group is... not the best, or rather it's less supporting someone and more profiting off of their marginalisation.

Also that novelty which I can only assume is meant to symbolise nonbinary people seriously needs work.

Offline dgneo

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #32 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:27:31 »
this seems like a blatant cash grab on top of exploiting the lgbtq community

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sus af

Offline Fredington

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #33 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:37:55 »
Ahhhhh a LGBT set by a non lgbt who is seeking their acceptance. Surprised this didn’t happen until 2020
i don't think that's a problem tho, he just want to support them

Intent =/= impact. Many people don't understand this. Good intentions aren't enough when the impact of the action falls short, or in the worse scenarios, causes harm.

Offline GalaxyDynamite

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #34 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:40:58 »
this seems like a blatant cash grab on top of exploiting the lgbtq community

registered 1 week ago, no other posts of substance

sus af

totally 1000% agree. The fact that this set dosnt contribute any funds to any sort of charity out the gate is a huge red flag.

However I will say that whether or not OP is LGTBQ shouldnt matter at all if hes making this keycap set. "You can only participate in pride if you're one of us" is such a stupid thiughtprocess and not how you advance your cause
« Last Edit: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:42:58 by GalaxyDynamite »

Offline nasp

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #35 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:42:42 »
I would like to see what someone who is actually an LGBTQ+ person thinks about the novelties.


Offline brianjking

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #36 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:42:44 »
this seems like a blatant cash grab on top of exploiting the lgbtq community

registered 1 week ago, no other posts of substance

sus af


+1.
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Offline danieljgrouse

  • Posts: 54
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #37 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:49:45 »
I would like to see what someone who is actually an LGBTQ+ person thinks about the novelties.

The Out and Proud one is ok, the man/woman public bathroom signs are a strange and not ideal choice and the half man half woman one which I can only assume is meant to represent trans and/or nonbinary people is extremely not great. Honestly none of those on their own make me think queer/LGBTQIA+. One of them is just Swiss flag.
Maybe you should have queer people at the very least consulting on any queer related project.

Offline bajapatty

  • Posts: 5
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #38 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:54:00 »
As a gay person myself, I think the novelties are lacking a lot. The out and proud is okay but the man, woman, and then gender neutral symbols remind me of a bathroom stall. I think there's a lot more to the LGBTQ+ community then just the fact that we are attracted to the same gender. There's a lot of vibrant culture and art and I think if you should get a queer artist to design some novelties that better represent us and the joy of PRIDE. I think overall from design, execution, proceeds, this needs to involve actual queer people. I appreciate that your heart is in the right place but it's reading a bit off and bit of a saviour complex to me

Offline bajapatty

  • Posts: 5
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #39 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 11:55:01 »
As a gay person myself, I think the novelties are lacking a lot. The out and proud is okay but the man, woman, and then gender neutral symbols remind me of a bathroom stall. I think there's a lot more to the LGBTQ+ community then just the fact that we are attracted to the same gender. There's a lot of vibrant culture and art and I think if you should get a queer artist to design some novelties that better represent us and the joy of PRIDE. I think overall from design, execution, proceeds, this needs to involve actual queer people. I appreciate that your heart is in the right place but it's reading a bit off and bit of a saviour complex to me

Also is the Swiss Flag/Plus sign supposed to represent....aids?

Offline reminbee

  • Posts: 12
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #40 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:11:46 »
Agree that making personal profit out of this is super shady.

I don't think the novelties add any sort of meaning or value. Are people supposed pick... their gender? The gender they're attracted to? I'm nb, I've always hated the half skirt/half pants icon. The tough part is a lot of LGBTQ+ iconography relies on multiple colors, which is not practical for injection molded novelties. Flag artisans could be really cool, though.

Good luck!

Offline elmo

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #41 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:36:43 »
Possibly a silly idea, and not sure if/how it'd drive up costs, but maybe instead of plain white lettering you could use the white/pink/cyan/brown/black from a "modern pride flag" -- either assigning a specific letter color to each keycap color (pink on blue, brown on yellow, etc), or try to emulate the "chevron" pattern in some way.

That would make the set look way too busy and uneven. Plain white legends work much better on these colors.

Offline chayu

  • Posts: 25
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #42 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:39:29 »
Hey OP, appreciate the attempt at an LGBTQ+ themed key set. A set like this would be great for introducing new people into the community.

However, looking at the novelties and your description, I think you should learn more about the LGBTQ+ community and make revisions. It doesn’t look good on the keyboard community if we are to support and release a set like this as it shows we don’t know much about the cause and communities we’re trying to support.

The LGBTQ+ community is quite diverse and there are a lot of complicated issues involved. The novelties especially may alienate people who identify as trans or non-binary, and the lack of colours for other identities such as transgender and asexual leaves those groups out.

I’m not familiar with resources you can use, but the 519 Community Centre in Toronto, Canada has been useful for me: https://www.the519.org/education-training/glossary

Offline Shutter_Shock

  • Posts: 292
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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #43 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:47:30 »
My thoughts as a gay guy:

I would like to see what someone who is actually an LGBTQ+ person thinks about the novelties.

I agree with what others have said that the novelties are a bit narrow in their representation of gender. Can women not wear pants? Is a person that wears a dress necessarily a woman? Can a person only be a man, a woman, or one third gender in the middle? Also, visually, they really do give off a 'bathroom' vibe that is separately off-putting to me. I think the "out and proud" enter is okay. "Love is love" would be worth considering as well. The former is more about pride and the latter is more about LGBTQ+ equality / marriage equity. Regarding the "+" novelty, I think the thought is in the right place, but I find it visually uninteresting. Regarding the gender symbol novelties, I would scrap them as well. In addition to not including the hybrid gender symbols which include features of both the gender binary male and female symbols, they still are evocative of the gender binary that is somewhat counter to the set's theme. I am by no means a graphic designer, so while I feel qualified to say that the novelties aren't hitting the mark, I'm not at all qualified to offer a better alternative, which I admit isn't super helpful.

this seems like a blatant cash grab on top of exploiting the lgbtq community

registered 1 week ago, no other posts of substance

sus af

totally 1000% agree. The fact that this set dosnt contribute any funds to any sort of charity out the gate is a huge red flag.

However I will say that whether or not OP is LGTBQ shouldnt matter at all if hes making this keycap set. "You can only participate in pride if you're one of us" is such a stupid thiughtprocess and not how you advance your cause

It is always a little suspicious when a new account launches an IC. I agree that it is particularly off-putting in this case for the aforementioned reasons. If the theme of the set is support for the LGBTQ+ community, at least some significant portion of the profits should follow suit. If it were just a rainbow colored set, it would be different. However, because OP is going with an LGBTQ+ support theme, I would find it disingenuous if a portion of the profits do not go to an LGBTQ+ supporting charity.

I agree that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with OP not being a member of the LGBTQ+ community. You absolutely do not have to be LGBTQ+ to be an ally or advocate. That being said, being a good ally does require some work. The initial name of the set, the novelties, the low-effort description in the original post, and the lack of profit donation to me indicate that OP did not make an effort to consult with any LGBTQ+ people before posting the IC.

As a gay person myself, I think the novelties are lacking a lot. The out and proud is okay but the man, woman, and then gender neutral symbols remind me of a bathroom stall. I think there's a lot more to the LGBTQ+ community then just the fact that we are attracted to the same gender. There's a lot of vibrant culture and art and I think if you should get a queer artist to design some novelties that better represent us and the joy of PRIDE. I think overall from design, execution, proceeds, this needs to involve actual queer people. I appreciate that your heart is in the right place but it's reading a bit off and bit of a saviour complex to me

+1. Definitely recommend consulting with LGBTQ+ designers for the novelties. They really need to be re-done.


On to my other thoughts:

1.) LGBTQ+ issues aside, I have a significant plagiarism concern. Signature Plasics has for a long time made a set called "DSA 'Rainbow." This is the exact same layout of keycap colors with white double-shot legends instead of black sublimation. I do realize, as has been said in other IC's, that similarity is inevitable as there are only so many colors and we will eventually reach a point where there aren't many new color combinations. That being said, whether intentional or not, this is extremely similar to the Signature Plastics set in a way that makes me a little uncomfortable.

2.) The set isn't my aesthetic. There is nothing wrong with this, obviously. I think the pride flag can be a difficult thing to work with when designing. I personally bought GMK Midnight Rainbow to be my personal pride set, as it's subdued character is much more my taste. The annual Nike Be True collection is released each June by Nike, and similarly features a lot of black and more subdued use of the rainbow that I personally think is more elegant. Importantly, Nike financially supports LGBTQ+ groups. If profit donation is added and the novelties are appropriately updated, I'll buy this set anyway though.

3.) You need a blue R4 1u Fn key for HHKB/split right shift. For a set like this, it's very important that you are careful to include enough keycaps to maintain the alignment of colors. Even though R4 profile is used in two rows, you can't mix and match them because of the color.

4.) Generally, try to include more detailed color information. Not doing so makes your IC look a little under-baked/rushed. Especially because of how many colors are used here, try to include color codes for stock colors, pantone colors for anything custom, etc.

5.) One more thing about the novelties: where are they supposed to go? Are all of the red ones supposed to go in the function row and all of the orange ones supposed to go in the number row? Does that mean they're all R1 profile? This is a separate issue from the appropriateness of the legends. None of them are purple, so none of them are well suited to the bottom row. Personally I almost only ever put my novelties on the bottom row or as my escape key.

6.) Hot take: cut out the numpad support. Maybe it's just me, but I've never used any of my GMK numpad keycaps, even though every set I own includes them. In this case, I think it's a very logical thing to cut. The add and enter keys for the numpad to not fit into the color rows that are so central to this set's design. It looks weird, and for that reason I wouldn't put this set on a full-size board even if I owned one. Furthermore, cutting out the numpad may help to offset the cost of using so many colors.

7.) ISO users please weigh in here: would you use this knowing the enter key won't align with the color rows? I feel like I couldn't live with that for similar reasons to my thoughts on the numpad, which leads me to say it should be cut, but I am an ANSI user so shouldn't speak on your behalf.

I know that was a lot. I think this set has a lot of potential, but it also needs a lot of work. Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

Offline kajahtaa

  • Posts: 272
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #44 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:47:42 »
People getting offended?

How about KAM Felix Argyle as a warm up.

Offline elmo

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Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #45 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:48:40 »
Hey OP, appreciate the attempt at an LGBTQ+ themed key set. A set like this would be great for introducing new people into the community.

However, looking at the novelties and your description, I think you should learn more about the LGBTQ+ community and make revisions. It doesn’t look good on the keyboard community if we are to support and release a set like this as it shows we don’t know much about the cause and communities we’re trying to support.

The LGBTQ+ community is quite diverse and there are a lot of complicated issues involved. The novelties especially may alienate people who identify as trans or non-binary, and the lack of colours for other identities such as transgender and asexual leaves those groups out.

I’m not familiar with resources you can use, but the 519 Community Centre in Toronto, Canada has been useful for me: https://www.the519.org/education-training/glossary

With how diverse the LGBT community is nowadays and people creating new flags and logos for literally everything it's probably impossible to make everyone happy :D

But I agree that the current novelties are a bit bland. There could be some more stuff in there.
Some extra kits in like trans and bi flag colors might be a nice idea but in the end every extra color will increase the sets price.
So staying with the "original" six colors might not be the worst idea after all.

1.) LGBTQ+ issues aside, I have a significant plagiarism concern. Signature Plasics has for a long time made a set called "DSA 'Rainbow." This is the exact same layout of keycap colors with white double-shot legends instead of black sublimation. I do realize, as has been said in other IC's, that similarity is inevitable as there are only so many colors and we will eventually reach a point where there aren't many new color combinations. That being said, whether intentional or not, this is extremely similar to the Signature Plastics set in a way that makes me a little uncomfortable.

I don't think that Signature Plastics (or anyone else in particular) has a copyright on a rainbow colored keycap set.
« Last Edit: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:53:23 by elmo »

Offline danieljgrouse

  • Posts: 54
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #46 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:49:35 »
The novelties especially may alienate people who identify as trans or non-binary, and the lack of colours for other identities such as transgender and asexual leaves those groups out.

I wouldn't personally worry too much about colours for specific orientation/gender identities. It is literally impossible to cover every single one in a set like this and going with the rainbow flag which is generally accepted as a catch all umbrella symbol for the entire queer/LGBTQAI+ community is the simplest solution, otherwise you always end up with someone being left out. I would love to see the flag be the Philly Pride or the Progress Pride one, but sadly that wouldn't really work in this form factor.

Offline chayu

  • Posts: 25
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #47 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 12:58:56 »
Yeah the whole LGBTQ+ community is honestly a land mine and I wouldn’t even try to get into that sphere... But OP should at least try harder if he’s gonna try IMO.

A set that’s just rainbow without the novelties with proceeds supporting an org he thinks best supports the community would be much better.

Offline Blamby

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 119
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #48 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 13:17:24 »
Hey everyone! I have read all the opinions and concluded that I will redesign the novelties, I'll try to be more careful with that. Regarding giving funds to charities, I'm planning on doing that but I don't have any vendors right now. Please give me some time to reach out them and I'll see what I can do. Sorry for the inconvenience created!

Offline quadrotiles

  • Posts: 29
Re: [IC] GMK Pride
« Reply #49 on: Mon, 27 July 2020, 14:53:25 »
As someone who is a part of the LGBTQ+, I agree with the sentiments posted here. Interested in seeing a redesign!
Kinda makes me want to try making an LGBTQ+ theme myself lol

Looking forward to following this idea. It has a lot of potential :)