[IC] KKB Alhambra | GB LIVE

[keepoto]

GB LINK

Discord | IC form


As a classical and medieval history enjoyer, I am excited to bring you my first history-themed set: KKB Alhambra.

Evident from its name, KKB Alhambra is based on the Alhambra fortress / palace complex in southern Spain.

Alhambra was constructed by the Sultans of the Sultanate of Granada, the last remaining Muslim taifa kingdom in Andalusia, during 13rd and 14th century AD. Combining Islamic and Western architecture style and elements, it represents the pinnacle of Moorish architecture and, to the present day, stands as one of the great architectural achievements of humanity.

More inspiration:

More

I visited Alhambra and the city of Granada in 2020, on a cloudless, sunny day. Alhambra left me a lasting and indelible memory - I was extremely impressed by the intricate patterns which adorned the palace, and the pure, ivory-like carvings which draped its interior in a solemn elegance.

The peak of my experience was when I ascended the guard tower of the Alhambra complex, and captured the full view of Granada with my very eyes. The lucid cerulean sky blended seamlessly with the snowy tops of Sierra Nevada in the distance, connecting with the array of white houses and structures sprawling across the foot of the hill hosting Alhambra. Gazing at the ageless white houses which once hosted a flourishing community of jews a millennium ago, I was overwhelmed by a weird sense of deja vu, as if past and present connected at this moment.

Ever since that visit, the magnificence and elegance of Alhambra has stuck with me. I believe keycaps would be an interesting and fitting form of expression to showcase the palace, in particular its decorations and art style. After further research and reading, I have come up with the present project, which I hope you will like and enjoy as well.

As a side note, I strongly encourage you to visit Alhambra (and Granada / Andalusia) in general, it will be worth it. Apart from its rich culture and history, the food and wine there are also excellent.

Info

Manufacturer: KKB (Keykobo) - ABS doubleshot with UV-printed sublegends / novelties

GB date: 12 August 2023 - 3 September 2023

Pricing:



Note: pricing is not final and may be subject to adjustments. Pricing is exclusive of VAT, customs duty, and other similar taxes / fees. Pricing for individual vendors will be announced closer to the GB date.


Kitting

Colour chips



Taken indoors under cold and warm light, and outdoors under direct sunlight.

Base Kit (Arabic)

Base Kit is composed of colours which symbolise the interior carvings of Alhambra. The sandy golden accents, akin to the colour of Alhambra’s walls at sunset, provide additional flair and variety to the set. Arabic sublegends hint at the Islamic art style and connection of the palace. We have managed to add an Ñ key to both base kits, for some of that Spanish flavour.



Base Kit (Latin)



Latin Alphas



Arabic Alphas



Numpad



Spacebars



Light Mods

Light Mods brings additional elegance and subtlety, allowing the set to be enjoyed on an even greater number / colour of boards.



Novelties

Novelties are largely inspired by the interior decorations and carvings of Alhambra, which take on the themes / motifs of nature, celestial objects, geometric patterns and calligraphy.

The R1/R4 pomegranate bulb novelty is inspired by the coat of arms of the city of Granada, while the Enter novelty is a stylised interpretation of the lion fountain at the Court of the Lions. I have included a R2 1.5u novelty as I am a heavy HHKB user.

Novelties will be in UV-print due to their complexity and the need to use multiple colours.




Deskmats and Artisan

"Granada" by Roksow



"Granada" is inspired by the various carvings, patterns and natural elements that make up Alhambra and Granada, the beautiful city on which the palace sits. I am elated that Roksow is able to incorporate the Muqarnas, in all its intricate elegance, as a centerpiece of the deskmat. The Alhambra Muqarnas was in fact one of the best parts of my entire trip there, though I was unable to incorporate it into the novelties due to its overwhelming complexity.

"Reconquista" by KeebPixel



"Reconquista" depicts the scene of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon triumphantly entering Alhambra after the ultimate capitulation of the Nasrid Emirate. We do not know if the couple in fact spent time in the Courtyard of the Lions in this fashion, but we can imagine that they must have felt jubilant at that very moment.

R1 1u by Aiglatson Studio



Renders

Haven TKL by Atelier Haven

More

Leviatán by Laminar Designs



Violetta by SoSoSoya



Boomerang XT by Laminar Designs



Reflection by Han Boards

More

Aeroboard70 by S61

More

TH103 by Bina




Collaborations



We have multiple artisan collaborations which will occur during or after the time of the GB. In alphabetical order:

• BasilKeys
• Landcaps Keycaps
• Nuxros Keyboard
• Project Key
• Zouabee
• Zuno Studio

Vendors

USA: Clickclack
CA: Ashkeebs
EU: Eloquentclicks
UK: Prototypist
CN: zFrontier
OCE: Allcaps
LATAM: LatamKeys
SEA: Mecha.store
KR: GEONWORKS
Thailand: Aiglatson Studio
VN: TheKeebStore
TW: PPD Keyboard
Indonesia: Mechaland


Changelog

19/06/23: "Updates" changed to "Changelog". Vendors updated.

20/06/23: Sneaky kit render update. Further vendors added.

22/06/23: Updated kitting. Tentative pricing announced.

05/07/23: Pricing and tentative GB timing announced. Kitting changes.

15/07/23: Physical colour samples and additional renders.

28/07/23: Additional renders; GB date announced!

31/07/23: Deskmat, artisan and collabs. Kitting changes.


Acknowledgements

My thanks to:

Nindroid for assisting with the novelties.
Pensa73 for the renders.
Manu, Keebaholics and LeHoy for discussion and input throughout the design process.
Keykobo for letting me ask for quotes 35 times in a row.
KucherenkoZZZ for assistance in relation to Arabic sublegends.

If you wish to support this set, please consider putting this as part of your signature:

Code: [Select]

[url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=120609.0][img width=320 height=120]https://i.imgur.com/d6Sac2Y.png[/img][/url]

[keepoto]

Reserved for esoteric purposes

I feel like this is reserved for no purpose at all, so if you see this msg, feel free to respond and quote this for comedic effect

[xLeHoy]

Very nice set. I like.

GLWIC

[LaminarDesigns]

Amazing colors and I love arabic subs. I’m in

[Dmitri]

interested

[Sainity]

Yeah, I love this

[Akele]

This is a really nice set. Would you consider adding a NorDeUK / international daughter kit as an option?

[keepoto]

Very nice set. I like.

GLWIC

thanks but LeHoyKeys when?

Amazing colors and I love arabic subs. I’m in

interested

Yeah, I love this

Many thanks!

This is a really nice set. Would you consider adding a NorDeUK / international daughter kit as an option?

I will check with KKB, but as of now I do not think they have NorDeUK / International kit moulds available, and full UV print will likely not be the best. If enough people show interest this might entice KKB into making the requisite moulds.

[NSMN]

One of the best KKB sets so far. Incredible work. GLWIC

[lkmyth]

I like this

[vhaarr]

NorDeUK please! Those novelties look awesome. Really unusual to see such artistic novelties designed on such a subdued color palette. I love it!

Also please consider scrapping QWERTY legends from the base kit completely. I only want the glyphs, whatever language they are I don't care :-P

Seriously, who buys these sets and still looks at their keyboard while typing? :-D The legends are only for aesthetics, so give me the good stuff and remove the useless stuff!

[whirlwind]

This is fantastic

[Microck]

love it ngl

[IOVERCALLHISTIOCYTES]

There is no good way to kit this, but it would be cool if there were light mod novs.

Love the set and the low contrast latin/alt mods. Fine work.

[kentdo10]

One of the best set I have seen lately.

[ankit]

this is sooo nice, I love the render with the light mods

if you can find space in the light mod kit for 1.5u supers it would be sick but not at all a dealbreaker
also if possible switching to the `Backspace` 1.5u legend instead of `<- Back` would be sick, KKB has that mold now

glwic will be grabbing a set

[LXVRGS]

this is so good

[keepoto]

Update: list of vendors updated. more TBD/TBA!
Update 2 since I dont want to make a new reply: fixed the nov kit and levi renders. feel free to pause the video while I give you a couple of seconds, and spot the easy-to-find mistakes in the original renders.

NorDeUK please! Those novelties look awesome. Really unusual to see such artistic novelties designed on such a subdued color palette. I love it!

Also please consider scrapping QWERTY legends from the base kit completely. I only want the glyphs, whatever language they are I don't care :-P

Seriously, who buys these sets and still looks at their keyboard while typing? :-D The legends are only for aesthetics, so give me the good stuff and remove the useless stuff!

Unfortunately dont think KKB has NordeUK moulds, but will check with them. Monoarabic alphas are certainly cool, let's hope someone make moulds for tehm one day

this is sooo nice, I love the render with the light mods

if you can find space in the light mod kit for 1.5u supers it would be sick but not at all a dealbreaker
also if possible switching to the `Backspace` 1.5u legend instead of `<- Back` would be sick, KKB has that mold now

glwic will be grabbing a set

Light mods was the original base kit idea, glad you liked it!

1.5u super in an add-on child kit wouldn't be much of a cost issue, but kinda weird that base doesn't have 1.5u super but light mods have it - will consider. Will also consider the backspace suggestion!

There is no good way to kit this, but it would be cool if there were light mod novs.

Love the set and the low contrast latin/alt mods. Fine work.

well now you remind me, maybe integrating some of the novs with light mods would be a good idea!

[Farhandsome]

Love this one. Noted it on the IC, but I think arabic subs in the base is the way to go. And picking up the latin alphas and light mods basically gives you two kits which I am a fan of.

[Aquarius]

that's cool! I like novelties!

[xLeHoy]

Very nice set. I like.

GLWIC

thanks but LeHoyKeys when?

This dude

[unwashed_heathen]

Spacebar kit has mod colored 6.25u/7u bars instead of accent colored. I'm assuming that's a mistake, but if it's not I think accent colored bars would be a better choice.

[DaaDaa]

it would be cool if you would consider adding گ چ پ ژ to one of the kits so that in theory it also supports Farsi (Persian). Then i believe it would be the first time this has been done outside of the Farsi speaking countries.

[Akele]

Would you consider adding UK ISO keys, if Key Kobo doesn't have the moulds for a NorDeUK kit? They definitely have UK ISO keys as quite a  few of Key Kobo sets include them:


https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=119802.0
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=120439.0
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=120543.0
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=120388.0
https://www.switchkeys.com.au/products/key-kobo-x-geonworks-wob-bow-rgb-keycap-sets-group-buy?variant=40167861977193

[tactilesbad]

nah please stick with terminal ISO.
no practical reason to favor one single ISO region in spite of all the others.

[EdgeOfInfinity]

now those are some pretty novs!

[Kansir]

GLWIC, love love love this set. I can see the efforts and attention to details on both the design and referencing elements. The novs look great, that's a buy for me. Looking forward for more updates

[trashem]

oh hey, a keycap set based on somewhere I’ve actually been! filling out the form now but I’d LOVE to see a deskmat design that plays on the tile designs all over the palace, or even the gardens (those were gorgeous too).

[synthetics]

cool, im down, glwic

[keepoto]

Thank you for your kind comments and suggestions over the past few days.

Update:

I have decided to run with both bases (with or without sublegends) while keeping the option to purchase both Latin Alphas and Arabic Sublegend Alphas open. Although this will increase the number of SKUs, I believe this is best for customers as there is significant support for both bases (and significant support for no preference).

Pricing is tentatively at 95USD for both bases, with other kits being determined later as those are subject to change.

To address some of your comments in this thread / the IC form:

NordeUK / UK ISO: as a set inspired partly by Arabic / Spanish culture and history, it would feel kind of odd to have NordeUK / UK ISO support over ES-ISO, even if some options may be more readily accessible than the others. I am exploring a potential ES-ISO kit with KKB, so everything is still up in the air.

All in one kit: adding ISO / 3u bars / numpad increase the costs of the set by a not insignificant amount. I feel like the current selection of keys is a good compromise, and I will try my best to keep the numpad kit price reasonable.

Other kitting suggestions: these are still being considered, I will be on vacation in Japan for the next few days - so I will update from Tokyo instead 

Spacebar kit has mod colored 6.25u/7u bars instead of accent colored. I'm assuming that's a mistake, but if it's not I think accent colored bars would be a better choice.

Many thanks for spotting this!

Very nice set. I like.

GLWIC

thanks but LeHoyKeys when?

This dude

LeHoyKeys when?

[vhaarr]

NordeUK / UK ISO: as a set inspired partly by Arabic / Spanish culture and history, it would feel kind of odd to have NordeUK / UK ISO support over ES-ISO, even if some options may be more readily accessible than the others. I am exploring a potential ES-ISO kit with KKB, so everything is still up in the air.

Why would that feel odd?

I want (and of course it's NOT your job to cater to what I want) one of three things for my boards (for any set I buy);
1. A completely blank set with no lettering whatsoever, but possibly novelties and mods, or something like Dots,
2. Or, a set that matches such that either main or sub lettering on the keys reflects the reality of what happens when I hit the key using my locale,
3. Or, a set with indecipherable lettering that noone I know will understand (so Voynich, exclusively Arabic, Standard Galactic, and so forth).

So if one alpha kit was for example completely Arabic, with 12x R2, 11x R3, and 10x R4 1u keys with any random Arabic character and nothing else, so that I could cover everything except numrow, I'd be happy.

Does that make me odd?

Of course I don't look while typing, but I just think either the caps should be entirely aesthetic/artful, and if not they should reflect reality.

Anyway, of course it's your set and you run it with whatever kitting you want, I just don't understand what's odd.

[keepoto]

NordeUK / UK ISO: as a set inspired partly by Arabic / Spanish culture and history, it would feel kind of odd to have NordeUK / UK ISO support over ES-ISO, even if some options may be more readily accessible than the others. I am exploring a potential ES-ISO kit with KKB, so everything is still up in the air.

Why would that feel odd?

I want (and of course it's NOT your job to cater to what I want) one of three things for my boards (for any set I buy);
1. A completely blank set with no lettering whatsoever, but possibly novelties and mods, or something like Dots,
2. Or, a set that matches such that either main or sub lettering on the keys reflects the reality of what happens when I hit the key using my locale,
3. Or, a set with indecipherable lettering that noone I know will understand (so Voynich, exclusively Arabic, Standard Galactic, and so forth).

So if one alpha kit was for example completely Arabic, with 12x R2, 11x R3, and 10x R4 1u keys with any random Arabic character and nothing else, so that I could cover everything except numrow, I'd be happy.

Does that make me odd?

Of course I don't look while typing, but I just think either the caps should be entirely aesthetic/artful, and if not they should reflect reality.

Anyway, of course it's your set and you run it with whatever kitting you want, I just don't understand what's odd.

monoarabic alphas would be beautiful (and I certainly don't consider that odd), the consideration is mainly in the costs aspect - either you do a full alphas mould for alphas that relatively few sets will use (in which case it will be expensive), or you full UV print alphas which may not be the best typing experience. This is certainly something I can explore if I do a dyesub arabic set one day 

MOQ is another consideration I believe.

[hzh0525]

Cool!

[PoseidonWolf]

GLWIC

[keepoto]

Many thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions. Now comes the updates:

Pricing:

We managed to lower the price of both base kits to 90 USD. USD pricing for other kits announced, with pricing for individual vendors to follow. Kindly note all prices are exclusive of VAT, customs, and other similar taxes / fees.

GB date:

We now aim to commence GB in the first week of August.

Kitting and novelty changes:

Minor kitting changes and fixes, most importantly moving R1 PgDn and End from Base to numpad. Other changes are corrective in nature (and feel free to pause the video while I give you a couple of seconds to spot the changes).

Slight changes made to some of the novelties to conform with KKB's technical specifications.

ISO-ES / NordeUK:

We have explored the possibility of including ISO-ES / NordeUK kits in the set; both kits are subject to MOQ. Unfortunately, due to the market situation and insufficient demand, we will not be offering ISO-ES / NordeUK at the moment.

Colour samples:

KKB will be sending out colour samples today, and we expect to receive these within this week.

Collaborations:

We are preparing several collaborations, including deskmats, artisans and (possibly) a cable - do watch out for exciting updates!

[marcin_nyga]

i love this set

[keepoto]

Apologies for the lack of response / updates, kinda under the weather the past week

Updates:

Physical colour chips obtained:



Additional renders in collaboration with Han Boards - go check out his board here!

We hope to be able to have the draft deskmats / HIBI collab ready next week, upon which we will announce the collaborations in one go. Stay tuned!

[keepoto]

Update:

We are pleased to announce that the GB for Alhambra will start on 12/8 and run through 3/9.

Meanwhile, please enjoy some additional renders made in collaboration with S61's Aeroboard70 while we finalise the details for the artisan and deskmats over the next few days 

[keepoto]

This should be the last major content update before GB!

Kitting

Although an ESFR kit is no longer an option, we have managed to include a doubleshot Ñ key in both base kits - to better represent the Spanish element of Alhambra.




Deskmats - 22 USD each

We are happy to announce two deskmats in different styles, drawn by the talented Roksow and Keebpixel respectly (you can guess who draw which one haha)

"Granada"



"Granada" is inspired by the various carvings, patterns and natural elements that make up Alhambra and Granada, the beautiful city on which the palace sits. I am elated that Roksow is able to incorporate the Muqarnas, in all its intricate elegance, as a centerpiece of the deskmat. The Alhambra Muqarnas was in fact one of the best parts of my entire trip there, though I was unable to incorporate it into the novelties due to its overwhelming complexity.

"Reconquista"



"Reconquista" depicts the scene of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon triumphantly entering Alhambra after the ultimate capitulation of the Nasrid Emirate. We do not know if the couple in fact spent time in the Courtyard of the Lions in this fashion, but we can imagine that they must have felt jubilant at that very moment.


Artisan - 45 USD

We have collaborated with Aiglatson Studio, designer of PBTFans Pyga and Vior, to bring you this R1 1U Artisan. We hope you will love it!




Collaborations



We are honoured to be able to work with several artisan designers to bring you a series of collaborations throughout the GB.


Last but not least, let's enjoy some dank renders of Haven TKL (I won't tell you someone almost murdered me for rendering the wrong colour) and Bina's upcoming TH103!

[keepoto]

Reminder that GB will start in 3 days!

Meanwhile, enjoy a couple of cool renders 

[keepoto]

GB live!