[IC] GMK Café (Group Buy Starts on October 1st!)

[Acereconkeys]

Great idea, and I love sets with brown, but I agree with those who say this set has too stark of a contrast to look coffee-themed, and also on the generic side.  The dark brown modifiers against those alpha caps will look black in most lighting conditions, unless there’s bright light over the keyboard.  Cappuccino foam color for alphas and a tad lighter mod color (for beans), and maybe some red-brown accents for cinnamon (I don’t do that to my coffee, but it’s a topping option).

+1

I really wish OP would recognize this issue. This set is going to look like b&w under most lighting conditions, which is a shame, since a few shades lighter would really make for a nice brown color set.

Patience man, the IC was posted just a week ago

[eskimojo]

Great idea, and I love sets with brown, but I agree with those who say this set has too stark of a contrast to look coffee-themed, and also on the generic side.  The dark brown modifiers against those alpha caps will look black in most lighting conditions, unless there’s bright light over the keyboard.  Cappuccino foam color for alphas and a tad lighter mod color (for beans), and maybe some red-brown accents for cinnamon (I don’t do that to my coffee, but it’s a topping option).

+1

I really wish OP would recognize this issue. This set is going to look like b&w under most lighting conditions, which is a shame, since a few shades lighter would really make for a nice brown color set.

Keep in mind that everyone is judging from the renders, whereas the runner has actual samples.

Direct sun:


Less direct:


The mod colour is hard to depict in renders.

[Langelandia]

Thanks for posting those - I can't answer any better than you just did, Eski =)

[etca2z]

Nice set but can't use on HHKB layout with R4 two 1.5u Super and two 1u Alt.

[Langelandia]

Nice set but can't use on HHKB layout with R4 two 1.5u Super and two 1u Alt.

Thanks for checking out the set! Can you help me understand what you mean about not having the HHKB layout? Sorry =\ I need clarification on that comment

[xondat]

Nice set but can't use on HHKB layout with R4 two 1.5u Super and two 1u Alt.

Thanks for checking out the set! Can you help me understand what you mean about not having the HHKB layout? Sorry =\ I need clarification on that comment

I think they want 100% accurate to the Topre HHKB.

MX HHKB is 1u Supers and 1.5u Alts so can't really please both.

[Langelandia]

Nice set but can't use on HHKB layout with R4 two 1.5u Super and two 1u Alt.

Thanks for checking out the set! Can you help me understand what you mean about not having the HHKB layout? Sorry =\ I need clarification on that comment

I think they want 100% accurate to the Topre HHKB.

MX HHKB is 1u Supers and 1.5u Alts so can't really please both.

Got it. I'll look into adding support. This is why we have IC threads, after all =)

[Langelandia]

Added in poll for potential deskmat options.

[JSaintS]

Less direct:

Show Image

The mod colour is hard to depict in renders.

Still looks black and not brown to me. You can't expect everyone to have perfect lightning in their room/work place and have it as on the first picture :-/

[ysys]

Am I the only one who can SMELL it?

[audiosl4ve]

Am I the only one who can SMELL it?

Every time i open this thread there's covfefe smell 

[Photoelectric]

Less direct:

Show Image

The mod colour is hard to depict in renders.

Still looks black and not brown to me. You can't expect everyone to have perfect lightning in their room/work place and have it as on the first picture :-/

Indeed, those two photographs illustrate the need for very bright light to not get the "it's basically black and cream/white" effect. 

In any event, if the set has a lot of support as is, I wish this IC and future GB best of luck!

[eskimojo]

Can I take this opportunity to remind people what coffee looks like:





I dunno about you guys, but it looks pretty "black" not chocolate brown to me.

[Photoelectric]

The coffee color (and bean color) can vary depending on the variety and degree of roasting of coffee beans, if you want to be pedantic.  Also a lot of Europeans drink it with milk.

Coffee beans start out light and get darker as they are roasted:

[eskimojo]

The coffee color (and bean color) can vary depending on the variety and degree of roasting of coffee beans, if you want to be pedantic.  Also a lot of Europeans drink it with milk.

Coffee beans start out light and get darker as they are roasted:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I don't disagree that coffee can be lighter, but the argument of many comments seem to be "too dark for coffee", which is patently untrue. I can understand people wanting a lighter brown set, but this clearly isn't it.

[Acereconkeys]

The coffee color (and bean color) can vary depending on the variety and degree of roasting of coffee beans, if you want to be pedantic.  Also a lot of Europeans drink it with milk.

Coffee beans start out light and get darker as they are roasted:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I don't disagree that coffee can be lighter, but the argument of many comments seem to be "too dark for coffee", which is patently untrue. I can understand people wanting a lighter brown set, but this clearly isn't it.

While this set isn't it in the current iteration. I worry the goal of being as close to standard black coffee as possible in the color, when applied to plastic, will end up just looking black black in most lightings.

If the color were changed to a color more in alignment with the rich browns of coffee beans (like the ones photo posted above) it'd look better in all lighting I think.

[Capsy]

The coffee color (and bean color) can vary depending on the variety and degree of roasting of coffee beans, if you want to be pedantic.  Also a lot of Europeans drink it with milk.

Coffee beans start out light and get darker as they are roasted:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I don't disagree that coffee can be lighter, but the argument of many comments seem to be "too dark for coffee", which is patently untrue. I can understand people wanting a lighter brown set, but this clearly isn't it.

While this set isn't it in the current iteration. I worry the goal of being as close to standard black coffee as possible in the color, when applied to plastic, will end up just looking black black in most lightings.

If the color were changed to a color more in alignment with the rich browns of coffee beans (like the ones photo posted above) it'd look better in all lighting I think.

I think making this set with a richer brown takes it very close to chocolatier and at that point, there's no purpose left to it. Coffee looks black in most light situations from afar which is exactly what's happening in the pictures here too. But as OP can confirm too, the brown is distinct IRL.

[Acereconkeys]

The coffee color (and bean color) can vary depending on the variety and degree of roasting of coffee beans, if you want to be pedantic.  Also a lot of Europeans drink it with milk.

Coffee beans start out light and get darker as they are roasted:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I don't disagree that coffee can be lighter, but the argument of many comments seem to be "too dark for coffee", which is patently untrue. I can understand people wanting a lighter brown set, but this clearly isn't it.

While this set isn't it in the current iteration. I worry the goal of being as close to standard black coffee as possible in the color, when applied to plastic, will end up just looking black black in most lightings.

If the color were changed to a color more in alignment with the rich browns of coffee beans (like the ones photo posted above) it'd look better in all lighting I think.

I think making this set with a richer brown takes it very close to chocolatier and at that point, there's no purpose left to it. Coffee looks black in most light situations from afar which is exactly what's happening in the pictures here too. But as OP can confirm too, the brown is distinct IRL.

Agreed. At the end of the day Langelandia is the designer it's their call :)

[Aphidsc]

Sorry for the off topic question, where can I go to find out more about that Dharma keyboard from the renders? Google doesn't return anything meaningful.

[Photoelectric]

Sorry for the off topic question, where can I go to find out more about that Dharma keyboard from the renders? Google doesn't return anything meaningful.

It's an upcoming project:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=99408.msg2723154#msg2723154

[Aphidsc]

Thanks
Oh wow looks like it's a long way to go.

[jedidood]

I am digging it, a must buy for me!!

[rmendis]

Great idea, and I love sets with brown, but I agree with those who say this set has too stark of a contrast to look coffee-themed, and also on the generic side.  The dark brown modifiers against those alpha caps will look black in most lighting conditions, unless there’s bright light over the keyboard.  Cappuccino foam color for alphas and a tad lighter mod color (for beans), and maybe some red-brown accents for cinnamon (I don’t do that to my coffee, but it’s a topping option).

+1

I really wish OP would recognize this issue. This set is going to look like b&w under most lighting conditions, which is a shame, since a few shades lighter would really make for a nice brown color set.

Keep in mind that everyone is judging from the renders, whereas the runner has actual samples.

Direct sun:

Show Image

Less direct:

Show Image

The mod colour is hard to depict in renders.

This is just proving the point. How many people use their keyboard in direct sunlight? Indoors, this will basically look black. If that’s what OP and buyers like, that’s fine. Just pointing it out.

[rmendis]

The coffee color (and bean color) can vary depending on the variety and degree of roasting of coffee beans, if you want to be pedantic.  Also a lot of Europeans drink it with milk.

Coffee beans start out light and get darker as they are roasted:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I don't disagree that coffee can be lighter, but the argument of many comments seem to be "too dark for coffee", which is patently untrue. I can understand people wanting a lighter brown set, but this clearly isn't it.

While this set isn't it in the current iteration. I worry the goal of being as close to standard black coffee as possible in the color, when applied to plastic, will end up just looking black black in most lightings.

If the color were changed to a color more in alignment with the rich browns of coffee beans (like the ones photo posted above) it'd look better in all lighting I think.

I think making this set with a richer brown takes it very close to chocolatier and at that point, there's no purpose left to it. Coffee looks black in most light situations from afar which is exactly what's happening in the pictures here too. But as OP can confirm too, the brown is distinct IRL.

I don’t see how having lighter brown mods and alpha legends makes this set look like chocolatier, when chocolatier has all brown alphas. I also didn’t say it has to be as light as chocolatier.

[rmendis]

Can I take this opportunity to remind people what coffee looks like:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I dunno about you guys, but it looks pretty "black" not chocolate brown to me.

Yes, coffee can look black. It can also look light brown, dark brown, and pretty much every shade inbetween. We have plenty of black (WoB/BoW) keysets to choose from, but if that’s the look the designer and others want, I’m not saying it’s wrong, just that it’s going to look black in most conditions.

[JSaintS]

I think making this set with a richer brown takes it very close to chocolatier and at that point, there's no purpose left to it. Coffee looks black in most light situations from afar which is exactly what's happening in the pictures here too. But as OP can confirm too, the brown is distinct IRL.

In it's current state it looks a lot like GMK Monochrome, albeit with a more toned down white. I don't think that was the goal either. In my opinion, we have enough black/white keysets around and I'd love some more brown keysets.

Yes, I do understand that coffee can look black but then GMK Monochrome or GMK WoB are both coffee keysets, period.

[t0ch]

Can I take this opportunity to remind people what coffee looks like:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I dunno about you guys, but it looks pretty "black" not chocolate brown to me.

Yes, coffee can look black. It can also look light brown, dark brown, and pretty much every shade inbetween. We have plenty of black (WoB/BoW) keysets to choose from, but if that’s the look the designer and others want, I’m not saying it’s wrong, just that it’s going to look black in most conditions.

(Attachment Link)

I personally like the dark brown modifier color. The bright white alphas seems to be the issue for me. The stark contrast between alpha and mod colors give it that GMK Monochrome look.
What if the alpha and accent colors were swapped? I think that light brown alphas would pull out the brown in the mods and the white accents would look great.

[Langelandia]

Can I take this opportunity to remind people what coffee looks like:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

I dunno about you guys, but it looks pretty "black" not chocolate brown to me.

Yes, coffee can look black. It can also look light brown, dark brown, and pretty much every shade inbetween. We have plenty of black (WoB/BoW) keysets to choose from, but if that’s the look the designer and others want, I’m not saying it’s wrong, just that it’s going to look black in most conditions.

(Attachment Link)

I personally like the dark brown modifier color. The bright white alphas seems to be the issue for me. The stark contrast between alpha and mod colors give it that GMK Monochrome look.
What if the alpha and accent colors were swapped? I think that light brown alphas would pull out the brown in the mods and the white accents would look great.

This is actually the big reason why I chose L9 for the alpha color of the set. When you compare it to the other bright whites of GMK, it's much warmer and less harsh - especially in person. This is, unfortunately, a case of the real-life product being more noticeable in person due to the hues' subtle nature. All of this is good conversation and I'm glad you're bringing it up. I will be at the Seattle meetup with the sample colors for people to see in-person and I hope to wrangle someone much better at photography than me to get some good photos in different lightings to show off that subtlety.

I'm not trying to be a jerk when I say this is good conversation either - these are valid concerns and points about the colors, but we're confident we can match to the RAL samples we have and the set will look very great, despite screens not doing the colors too much justice. There have been sets in the past not match well to what color was originally intended so I understand the concerns. With us joining group buys in the community, we are putting trust in the people to deliver on what they're selling and I hope that y'all will trust Upas from Cannonkeys and myself to deliver.

As always, thanks for checking out the set - I hope you like it enough to buy in when GB time happens, but I also understand if you choose not to. As the great Nathan Kim says, it's about preference =)

I hope all those attending Keycon have a great time and please travel safely!

[Ashardalon]

Honestly, I'd say so long as this isn't GMK Plum or Necro we're probably going to be okay. You know I love the set, but perhaps there's a slightly brighter RAL that we could see and maybe that will work better with natural indoor lighting. The biggest problem with GMK Phantom is that it's purple in direct sunlight, but basically black in indoor lighting.

[eskimojo]

Honestly, I'd say so long as this isn't GMK Plum or Necro we're probably going to be okay. You know I love the set, but perhaps there's a slightly brighter RAL that we could see and maybe that will work better with natural indoor lighting. The biggest problem with GMK Phantom is that it's purple in direct sunlight, but basically black in indoor lighting.

Not the mustard yellow? 

[Ashardalon]

Honestly, I'd say so long as this isn't GMK Plum or Necro we're probably going to be okay. You know I love the set, but perhaps there's a slightly brighter RAL that we could see and maybe that will work better with natural indoor lighting. The biggest problem with GMK Phantom is that it's purple in direct sunlight, but basically black in indoor lighting.

Not the mustard yellow? 

But the runner was happy with it so that's what matters!

[Capsy]

I think making this set with a richer brown takes it very close to chocolatier and at that point, there's no purpose left to it. Coffee looks black in most light situations from afar which is exactly what's happening in the pictures here too. But as OP can confirm too, the brown is distinct IRL.

In it's current state it looks a lot like GMK Monochrome, albeit with a more toned down white. I don't think that was the goal either. In my opinion, we have enough black/white keysets around and I'd love some more brown keysets.

Yes, I do understand that coffee can look black but then GMK Monochrome or GMK WoB are both coffee keysets, period.

I don't know how that sample looks black but anyways.

Also, Monochrome is a brighter black and even the renders don't look like monochrome.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[rmendis]

Honestly, I'd say so long as this isn't GMK Plum or Necro we're probably going to be okay. You know I love the set, but perhaps there's a slightly brighter RAL that we could see and maybe that will work better with natural indoor lighting. The biggest problem with GMK Phantom is that it's purple in direct sunlight, but basically black in indoor lighting.

Exactly. This set, without changes, is going to suffer the same problem as GMK Phantom. Both the Phantom dark purple and the RAL dark brown here just look like black in most lighting conditions. A tad lighter brown would be perfect. Sometimes you have to make adjustments to accommodate the reality of how colored plastic looks under a variety of lighting conditions, not just a single color chip in bright sunlight. Unfortunate, but it's the prerogative of the GB runner. Hope it works out for everyone, and hope to see more brown GMK sets. Cheers!

Edit: RAL 8014 is an example of a brown hue that would be more forgiving in indoor lighting conditions
https://www.ralcolorchart.com/ral-classic/ral-8014-sepia-brown

[etca2z]

Nice set but can't use on HHKB layout with R4 two 1.5u Super and two 1u Alt.

Thanks for checking out the set! Can you help me understand what you mean about not having the HHKB layout? Sorry =\ I need clarification on that comment

I think they want 100% accurate to the Topre HHKB.

MX HHKB is 1u Supers and 1.5u Alts so can't really please both.

Many Mac users would prefer 1.5u Super and 1u Alt, with the Super keys next to spacebar, like in the Apple keyboard.

[Langelandia]

So, to hopefully help with the color comparison, janglad made a quick side-by-side so people can see Café colors vs CR and WS2.

[lakeboredom]

Nice, that really helps with visualizing the brown. Think I'm in.

[Bhk1004]

OP, you need to go darker. its too brown. Black coffee is definitely darker. WTFFFFFFFFFF

[Capsy]

That is definitely two monochrome caps on the left.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[kgorin]

That is definitely two monochrome caps on the left.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

not sure if sarcastic or

[ramblinrose]

Well done set! The accents remind me of coffee ice cream. I think the dark brown works fine after seeing the comparison, I'd almost want a "creamier" white for the alphas.. something like GMK Led Zeps. Makes sense to use the stock white though.

[neutralstate]

another possibility is to use the accent color for the modifier text, thereby making the set "pop" a little more.

Agree with the comments that the current modifier brown will likely look black in most cases, if you need to put something totally black next to a color in order to create the contrast for most eyes to recognize the difference, then its likely just gonna look black when the contrast is gone and the lighting is poor.

of course, these are just suggestions. this is Langelandia's set and its up to Langelandia to decide what is the desired look!

[tex_live_utility]

Great idea, and I love sets with brown, but I agree with those who say this set has too stark of a contrast to look coffee-themed, and also on the generic side.  The dark brown modifiers against those alpha caps will look black in most lighting conditions, unless there’s bright light over the keyboard.  Cappuccino foam color for alphas and a tad lighter mod color (for beans), and maybe some red-brown accents for cinnamon (I don’t do that to my coffee, but it’s a topping option).

+1

I really wish OP would recognize this issue. This set is going to look like b&w under most lighting conditions, which is a shame, since a few shades lighter would really make for a nice brown color set.

That said, I'd gladly a buy an Enter/Esc/Arrows accent kit in that nice coffee brown color

[buhbang]

so is it confirmed if this kit will come with coffee bean smell infused into keycaps?

[Langelandia]

so is it confirmed if this kit will come with coffee bean smell infused into keycaps?

Currently working on that tech; however, there may be some scent-related surprise(s) planned...

[eskimojo]

so is it confirmed if this kit will come with coffee bean smell infused into keycaps?

Currently working on that tech; however, there may be some scent-related surprise(s) planned...

Come on, be scentsible

[Minterly]

When will this project be named to GMK Covfefe?

[1023andy]

No Asian vendor yet?

[phinix]

Cool set, I'm in for one.
What would be timescales for this?
In a month or two?

It reminds me of that Filco SA set - it looked like almost black, but when you looked into it, it was actually dark brown and kinda off-white/cream legends.








There was also Coffee set in the past, which in my opinion, its brown was too bright..

[Langelandia]

Cool set, I'm in for one.
What would be timescales for this?
In a month or two?

We will announce the GB dates SoonTM - we've got some things to finalize, but this shouldn't complicate summer plans if you're in for some of the great sets coming out soon.

[despairsray]

Cool set, I'm in for one.
What would be timescales for this?
In a month or two?

We will announce the GB dates SoonTM - we've got some things to finalize, but this shouldn't complicate summer plans if you're in for some of the great sets coming out soon.

Does that mean that the GB will more-likely be in Aug-Sept?

I absolutely love this set, I think its cleaner and subtle than the other coffee set. Definitely in for one.