[IC] The Keyboard Coffee Table Picture Book

[Steezus]

I'll get a few compliments but not too many.

You will once GH snaps out of its artisan cap circle jerk phase.

Yeah it's such a craze right now, I just can't justify spending hundreds on artisans when I could put that towards a super nice board. Without the board there's no place for artisans.

I'm currently using a 60mm Nikkor Micro lens, it's kind of hard getting full board shots but I love the lens.

[Melvang]

I can recommend www.acilab.com.  My wife works there and has experience in the books department.  They have recently been voted the number one photo lab in the country by the PPA (Professional Photographers Association).  The owners there Mark and Lisa are amazing people. 

Feel free to pm my wife here for more info.  She goes by Alexis's.  Just make sure to include me in the pm as she doesn't check in here very often.

Fixed it for you?

Sorry, her avatar here is Alexiss.  Wasn't paying attention to autocorrect.

[hoggy]

Interested in a copy.

[jaffers]

I don't think dividing the book up too much is a good idea either, there needs to be some order and category but this is an artistic medium and as such, I think order should be something that is subtle.

I also have been saving my favourite keyboard shots for a while now and will upload them to an album sometime in the future. The only issue is who's photos they are. I just use them as wallpapers etc... Also to show people how cool the hobby is (thankfully, when I get this book I will have physical pictures to show people )

[Glenmael]

I'd be down for one, hard cover + international shipping 

Cool!  What country?

Australia please

[Sifo]

Just need someone to take pictures of my keyboards for me

[Glenmael]

I would personally like it to be something (aesthetically) like the following:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thestandardsmanual/reissue-of-the-1975-nasa-graphics-standards-manual/description

Check out the 'Specifications of the reissue' section.

(note I did jump on this Kickstarter and can post photos etc. when I receive the product)

[kiwi99]

Awesome!  Asukabook actually has a plugin for InDesign.  Check it out and see what you think:
http://asukabook.com/downloads_designtools.html

Once I have pricing from Asukabook, let's see what your contacts can do for comparison pricing.  I know Asukabook is going to be a premium, but I'm not sure how much of a premium they are yet.

Contact I have said this sort of stuff isn't his area of business as much so asukabook or other options are what we'd need to use.

Alright well I uploaded the pics to the website, realized after the fact that you can't edit the names so it's just going to be the name my camera gave it when taking the shots. That's alright though since I uploaded the image with watermarks, I think it will actually be better to leave the watermarks to give credit than text on the book page.

Thank you!

First off I just want to say that this is an AWESOME idea, and I would love to see it come to fruition (even though my photography skills are crap).

I'm thinking that maybe leaving watermarks might be the best way to help attribute credits.  Or not.  I'd like to hear thoughts on this.

I think each page should have it's own unmarked spread with a little column or tag somewhere that has a full description of what we're looking at - as well as the photographer's name (maybe location too!). I suppose it could simply be put under the picture as well, depending on how you wish to format the page.

That way pictures are still accredited, we get the full picture in the book, and a little description of what we're seeing for those that aren't able to identify every component of every keyboard.

I'd be really interested to know how you're going to divide the book up

Also, I know most people here won't need it - but I was just thinking about a glossary section! If it is indeed meant to be a coffee table book this could be pretty helpful for your guests that aren't as keyboard savvy as the rest of us.

I like the idea of having more than just a credit/watermark with a small blurb of what we're looking at (full tech specs) as well as the owner/photographer and the geographic location.  But this is more of a layout and design issue, which I'm sadly no expert at. 

As far as dividing it up, that's a good question.  While guys who have done layout would know what feels best from that perspective, I'd like to also hear thoughts on what works for us from a reader perspective.

The glossary is kinda a neat idea.  But with all the terminologies we have, wouldn't it become a bit of hairball?

A glossary or a few pages dedicated to "the basics" parts of a keyboard, common nomenclature, etc. would be a really good idea.
As far as the little blurb with credit + watermarks sections it is really easy to make something simple and effective as long as its consistent throughout the book, consistency is very important to making something look professional.

I think sorting shouldn't be a focus but if it were up to me I'd try to randomize keysets as much as possible due to them being a very big visual aspect of a board. and better to just have different styles of boards every picture to keep the book interesting, I know i'd get bored of seeing 20+ pages of the same korean custom over and over with different sets or vice versa just seeing og cherry beige every photo over and over to be very boring and uninteresting to flip through, for this randomness is better in my opinion!

Also a +1 to the idea of having some "build log" esque pages/section they in my option when photographed well are some of my favourite posts I see and show that there's work put into these beauties and to show the effort put in. 

Image quality (not photography skills) is going to be a big barrier for what gets in. Sourcing from imgur, facebook, and some other sites wont work well for print if the image is compressed. Sourcing original images will be key if this is to turn out well and DPI on everything will need to be checked, some images will look lovely on a computer screen then print out looking pretty bad. I am willing to help out as much as my school timetable allows checking photos, designing any of this if my help is needed as long as my school schedule permits it..

Another note is on what SamirD said saying this needs to be a cross-community project for it to be its best so put aside any negativity related to this to make the best damn picture book we can.   

[Zambumon]

I agree with kiwi about gathering  photographs from multiple communities which might be very beneficial.

[Solo]

Just need someone to take pictures of my keyboards for me

I noticed that your Gon isn't in your signature anymore. Have you passed on the torch?

[Dernubenfrieken]

I would personally like it to be something (aesthetically) like the following:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thestandardsmanual/reissue-of-the-1975-nasa-graphics-standards-manual/description

Check out the 'Specifications of the reissue' section.

(note I did jump on this Kickstarter and can post photos etc. when I receive the product)

100% Agree. Definitely could get some tech communities to hype it up, and get the word out about keyboards!

[Sifo]

Just need someone to take pictures of my keyboards for me

I noticed that your Gon isn't in your signature anymore. Have you passed on the torch?

It doesn't look like that anymore. I have 3 boards not in my signature cuz I have no updated picture of them.

[Steezus]

Just need someone to take pictures of my keyboards for me

I noticed that your Gon isn't in your signature anymore. Have you passed on the torch?

It doesn't look like that anymore. I have 3 boards not in my signature cuz I have no updated picture of them.

Lemme borrow that LZ-S and I'll take all the pictures you want.

[baldgye]

I'll get a few compliments but not too many.

You will once GH snaps out of its artisan cap circle jerk phase.

OUCH
the edge on the comment is so sharp!


On topic;
I think the pricing on this is whay off... I put together a pretty thin (90 or so pages) large (coffee table) hardback book for mine and my gf's two year ann and it was full of full page colour photo's and for a single run cost almost Ł100. Which is nearly $200.
To think that you'll be able to produce a book of similar size, but twice the thickness for $25 seems to me like your expecting to shift thousands or you just made the number up.
Another thing, I was part of the pretty small Soulwax/2manydjs community and the forum admin made a smaller pocket book that contained every single/EP/album they ever put out, that was soft cover and about the size of a CD Jewel case, and cost about $50.


I've been thinking of doing a hardcopy of the BroCaps Cat for a while, but the costs are really quite high for low run productions, and if you want a coffee table type book the costs are going to be insane.

[jaffers]

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/US4118611



Cherry MX http://www.google.com/patents/US4467160



Alps SKCM Blue https://www.google.com/patents/US4642433

This 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

[jaffers]

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/10/the-speedhunters-photography-book-is-here/

[MAR82]

I really love this idea and would buy a copy! 

I would also love to find one of my pictures in it.
Since I never seem to pick the best of my pictures, I'll just give links to my Flickr and imgur pages and you guys can see if there are any that are worthwhile
https://www.flickr.com/gp/27672979@N06/N34B38
http://mrmar82.imgur.com/
If needed I'll provide any of the pictures without the watermarks

[SamirD]

Sorry, her avatar here is Alexiss.  Wasn't paying attention to autocorrect.

She got in touch via PM. 

I don't think dividing the book up too much is a good idea either, there needs to be some order and category but this is an artistic medium and as such, I think order should be something that is subtle.

I also have been saving my favourite keyboard shots for a while now and will upload them to an album sometime in the future. The only issue is who's photos they are. I just use them as wallpapers etc... Also to show people how cool the hobby is (thankfully, when I get this book I will have physical pictures to show people )

I agree that this should be an art book above all else.

Finding out who's pictures those originals are will be important as I wouldn't be comfortable publishing anything without permission.  I'm sure if you post the photos in this thread though we as the community could help you figure that out. 

I would personally like it to be something (aesthetically) like the following:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thestandardsmanual/reissue-of-the-1975-nasa-graphics-standards-manual/description

Check out the 'Specifications of the reissue' section.

(note I did jump on this Kickstarter and can post photos etc. when I receive the product)

I like the professional look of that book and I agree that we should be on that level, although with an artistic stance since these are more works of art than something technical in nature.

I'd be down for one, hard cover + international shipping 

Cool!  What country?

Australia please

Thank you!  Noted.

A glossary or a few pages dedicated to "the basics" parts of a keyboard, common nomenclature, etc. would be a really good idea.
As far as the little blurb with credit + watermarks sections it is really easy to make something simple and effective as long as its consistent throughout the book, consistency is very important to making something look professional.

I think sorting shouldn't be a focus but if it were up to me I'd try to randomize keysets as much as possible due to them being a very big visual aspect of a board. and better to just have different styles of boards every picture to keep the book interesting, I know i'd get bored of seeing 20+ pages of the same korean custom over and over with different sets or vice versa just seeing og cherry beige every photo over and over to be very boring and uninteresting to flip through, for this randomness is better in my opinion!

Also a +1 to the idea of having some "build log" esque pages/section they in my option when photographed well are some of my favourite posts I see and show that there's work put into these beauties and to show the effort put in. 

Image quality (not photography skills) is going to be a big barrier for what gets in. Sourcing from imgur, facebook, and some other sites wont work well for print if the image is compressed. Sourcing original images will be key if this is to turn out well and DPI on everything will need to be checked, some images will look lovely on a computer screen then print out looking pretty bad. I am willing to help out as much as my school timetable allows checking photos, designing any of this if my help is needed as long as my school schedule permits it..

Another note is on what SamirD said saying this needs to be a cross-community project for it to be its best so put aside any negativity related to this to make the best damn picture book we can.   

I agree that consistancy will be important for professionalism.  This morning I thought of this as a standard line below each photo:
[board model/case] with [swtich and switch mods] with [cap type, color, legend type, etc] with [any artisans].  Thoughts?

That is true that several of the same keyboard would be boring--but that would only be if visually they are the same.  My thoughts behind this book is that every image should take your breath away, so as long as two images in sequence do this in different ways, it doesn't really matter what the board is.

You're absolutely right about image quality--that's what will make this book shine.  Originals with properly executed licenses for printing will be a must and keep everything in the green--both technically and legally.

Interested in a copy.

Noted!

100% Agree. Definitely could get some tech communities to hype it up, and get the word out about keyboards!

Hmm...I never thought of any community outside of keyboarding to have an interest.  What do you have in mind?

I agree with kiwi about gathering  photographs from multiple communities which might be very beneficial.

Most definitely.  Then it becomes a work the whole community can enjoy. 

http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/10/the-speedhunters-photography-book-is-here/

I love the concept with this book, although the automotive genre has much, much, much more media than what we do in the keyboarding community.  I should know--I was publishing almost 50,000 photos online a year when I was working full-time on my automotive site. 

I think the pricing on this is whay off... I put together a pretty thin (90 or so pages) large (coffee table) hardback book for mine and my gf's two year ann and it was full of full page colour photo's and for a single run cost almost Ł100. Which is nearly $200.
To think that you'll be able to produce a book of similar size, but twice the thickness for $25 seems to me like your expecting to shift thousands or you just made the number up.
Another thing, I was part of the pretty small Soulwax/2manydjs community and the forum admin made a smaller pocket book that contained every single/EP/album they ever put out, that was soft cover and about the size of a CD Jewel case, and cost about $50.


I've been thinking of doing a hardcopy of the BroCaps Cat for a while, but the costs are really quite high for low run productions, and if you want a coffee table type book the costs are going to be insane.

Interesting feedback.  We don't have any real pricing yet (I got a reply from Asukabook, but haven't had time to read it), so it could be way out there.  Obviously we'll have to figure out a way to get the pricing down to a reasonable level or this project dies right there.  And I intend to make it possible.

Since no one has really come up with any solid ideas for layout etc I decided to throw some ideas out there.

Show Image

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.

Show Image

Show Image

It also has this brilliant cover.

Show Image

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.

Show Image

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.

Show Image

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

Show Image

Show Image

They may or may not fit. But I think they are awesome.

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

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.

Show Image

IBM Buckling Spring http://www.google.com/patents/US4118611

Show Image

Cherry MX http://www.google.com/patents/US4467160

Show Image

Alps SKCM Blue https://www.google.com/patents/US4642433

This 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.

Show Image

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.

Show Image

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

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!

To me this image is absolutely what this book is about:


To me, this would be a book where the showcased photos entices one to know more about the subject--similar to how the cover of an automotive brochure encourages you to open and read.  It would be great to make the book more encompassing than that, but I have a hunch that budgetary constraints won't allow us, and maybe that could be the subject of volume two or another edition.  If the budget allows it, I'd like to see it be something someone new to the subject can pick up and learn 30% enough to jump online and learn the rest.  But I know the design phase is going to be much longer for this type of book as well.

[Dernubenfrieken]

100% Agree. Definitely could get some tech communities to hype it up, and get the word out about keyboards!

Hmm...I never thought of any community outside of keyboarding to have an interest.  What do you have in mind?

Nothing specific, just nerds with money and good taste I guess.  But I could see websites like gizmodo or Ars Technica appreciating something like this, and in terms of communities, PC gaming and hardware modding come to mind.

[Steezus]

I honestly believe we're thinking way too broad here, who is going to give a **** about a book with pictures of keyboards if it is not their interest/hobby. I personally would just like a geekhack book that shows the best of what the community has and maybe make a few volumes as years go by.

[baldgye]

I honestly believe the cost of this book everyone seems to want will be insane and no one will be willing to pay for it

[Steezus]

I honestly believe the cost of this book everyone seems to want will be insane and no one will be willing to pay for it

Haha I don't remember saying that.

I do agree though, people are are trying to turn this into the god damn dictionary for keyboards and wanting to fill it with everything possible. The more that gets added the higher the cost. I wouldn't mind have a small book with nothing but pictures of some high end boards. Even then still not entirely sure since there have been no quotes for the price yet. Even the NASA book that Glenmeal linked was $79 on the kickstarter to get one book and there are thousands upon thousands of backers involved.

[Waateva]

I honestly believe we're thinking way too broad here, who is going to give a **** about a book with pictures of keyboards if it is not their interest/hobby. I personally would just like a geekhack book that shows the best of what the community has and maybe make a few volumes as years go by.

This.  Making multiple smaller volumes over the next few years vs. one huge volume now seems to be the most economical idea, as well as the one that offers the most flexibility.  Maybe this year it could focus more on keyboards while another volume focuses on artisans with another volume focusing on internals like switches and/or build logs.

[Dernubenfrieken]

I honestly believe the cost of this book everyone seems to want will be insane and no one will be willing to pay for it

Haha I don't remember saying that.

I do agree though, people are are trying to turn this into the god damn dictionary for keyboards and wanting to fill it with everything possible. The more that gets added the higher the cost. I wouldn't mind have a small book with nothing but pictures of some high end boards. Even then still not entirely sure since there have been no quotes for the price yet. Even the NASA book that Glenmeal linked was $79 on the kickstarter to get one book and there are thousands upon thousands of backers involved.

I agree. Maybe a few title pages for sections (cherry, ibm, topre, etc) and a small caption for some pictures, but really this should be some sweet keyboard pictures

[KaminKevCrew]

I submitted a few photos

I took them with the help of a friend who has a bunch of camera gear, and some professional lighting equipment. If anyone is in the northwest area of the US, you could come over and we could grab some shots

They were taken with an old manual only nikon prime lens, adapted to the canon 70D that we were using for photos.

For anyone interested, I only used a few photos from this album, but here are the pictures I'm talking about.

https://imgur.com/a/Tl9SL

[SamirD]

We have a lot of excitement for this project, and that always brings a lot of ideas to the table, which is a good thing.

The challenge will be trying to incorporate what we can into this current volume and what that should be.  The good thing is that there's a lot more here that we can expand on in future volumes, so this is a cool project that can keep rolling on.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, the first thing we're going to need is content.  We've only got 6 pictures in the submission gallery so far, so right now the book is a pamphlet, lol.  Need moar!

I like this shot too KaminKevCrew if you want to submit it:

[KaminKevCrew]

We have a lot of excitement for this project, and that always brings a lot of ideas to the table, which is a good thing.

The challenge will be trying to incorporate what we can into this current volume and what that should be.  The good thing is that there's a lot more here that we can expand on in future volumes, so this is a cool project that can keep rolling on.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, the first thing we're going to need is content.  We've only got 6 pictures in the submission gallery so far, so right now the book is a pamphlet, lol.  Need moar!

I like this shot too KaminKevCrew if you want to submit it:

Show Image

Happily!

Again, if anyone is in the area (or wants to send me a board for photographic purposes) I'm totally willing to get everything set up for some awesome photos of boards!

The book that Zeal used to take his photos was actually a speedhunters yearly, limited release that's done over there. They are pretty hard to get a hold of, but it might be worth looking around and seeing if any of those guys would be willing to at least give advice on how to get some books done for, well, not an extravagant price.


Edit: That photo should now be uploaded!

[jaffers]

I honestly believe we're thinking way too broad here, who is going to give a **** about a book with pictures of keyboards if it is not their interest/hobby. I personally would just like a geekhack book that shows the best of what the community has and maybe make a few volumes as years go by.

I want the speedhunter book and cars aren't my hobby

I don't even own a car

[Steezus]

I honestly believe we're thinking way too broad here, who is going to give a **** about a book with pictures of keyboards if it is not their interest/hobby. I personally would just like a geekhack book that shows the best of what the community has and maybe make a few volumes as years go by.

I want the speedhunter book and cars aren't my hobby

I don't even own a car

From my experience at least 99% of my friends and family think my keyboard hobby is a joke, I honestly can't think of one person that I know irl that would buy the book other than myself. You first took interest in the book from Zeal's pictures, I'm assuming you'd want it for a nice background for your pics, the cars themselves are just an added bonus to look at. Even if that's not the case I know for sure that you like to collect art and what not from showing me the previous paintings/posters you were showing me. If people are perfectly find with typing on their membranes at work then I highly doubt they'd give two ****s about this book.

[Dernubenfrieken]

I honestly believe we're thinking way too broad here, who is going to give a **** about a book with pictures of keyboards if it is not their interest/hobby. I personally would just like a geekhack book that shows the best of what the community has and maybe make a few volumes as years go by.

I want the speedhunter book and cars aren't my hobby

I don't even own a car

From my experience at least 99% of my friends and family think my keyboard hobby is a joke, I honestly can't think of one person that I know irl that would buy the book other than myself. You first took interest in the book from Zeal's pictures, I'm assuming you'd want it for a nice background for your pics, the cars themselves are just an added bonus to look at. Even if that's not the case I know for sure that you like to collect art and what not from showing me the previous paintings/posters you were showing me. If people are perfectly find with typing on their membranes at work then I highly doubt they'd give two ****s about this book.

Eh, nerds like pretty pictures and have disposable income. People don't really have to "get" the hobby to enjoy nice photographs. I don't think it's gonna be the majority of people buying the book, but anybody who appreciates tech can probably see the value in this. Especially if there's a focus on vintage, thats a huge market of old school computer geeks.

[jaffers]

I honestly believe we're thinking way too broad here, who is going to give a **** about a book with pictures of keyboards if it is not their interest/hobby. I personally would just like a geekhack book that shows the best of what the community has and maybe make a few volumes as years go by.

I want the speedhunter book and cars aren't my hobby

I don't even own a car

From my experience at least 99% of my friends and family think my keyboard hobby is a joke, I honestly can't think of one person that I know irl that would buy the book other than myself. You first took interest in the book from Zeal's pictures, I'm assuming you'd want it for a nice background for your pics, the cars themselves are just an added bonus to look at. Even if that's not the case I know for sure that you like to collect art and what not from showing me the previous paintings/posters you were showing me. If people are perfectly find with typing on their membranes at work then I highly doubt they'd give two ****s about this book.

I understand your point but my original point wasn't that I expect people outside of the hobby to buy the book. It was that the book was of high enough quality that it would catch my eye like the speedhunter book.

Mind you that book has 400 pages and they would have other expenses that it would have to deal with on top of producing it. Which is why it retailed at $75 USD. These include paying the people who designed it, paying the photographer's royalties (most likely) all the preproduction prototypes, and the fact that it is 400 pages. And they would want to make a profit off it.

I think that layout and design don't cost more to print, rather cost time instead. As a collaborative group of many different people from many different backgrounds, I think we can pull off a great looking book. Which is really what this is all about. I don't think that this book should have 400 pages either.

On top of photos I think people should be contributing layout ideas, font ideas, concept designs, etc... Better start early than late if you ask me

[meow a cat]

I'd be in for one book! Great idea, and it would be a cool way to share the hobby with those outside of it.

I have on coffee table book that I really enjoy, Star Trek: Ships of the Line. I really like it's format! It measures about 11.5 inches wide and 7.5 inches tall, hardcover and comes in at 351 pages. I'd love a GeekHack version! 

[FrostyToast]

If you want perfect keyboard photography meant for the coffee table then just go to any of VesperSaint's photos.

Any of them will suffice for calm and relaxing keyboard sexiness.

[Waateva]

Over on reddit /u/techmattr has pretty good photos too, I linked a couple below.

[mobbo]

Over on reddit /u/techmattr has pretty good photos too, I linked a couple below.

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

His posts are actually what led me to explore keyboard customization and eventually GH! I specifically remember it was the Calm Depths one that made me go "Yep. I need that in my life." Before I knew anything about keyboards.

He has a great eye for themes and executes them better than anyone.

[Waateva]

Over on reddit /u/techmattr has pretty good photos too, I linked a couple below.

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

His posts are actually what led me to explore keyboard customization and eventually GH! I specifically remember it was the Calm Depths one that made me go "Yep. I need that in my life." Before I knew anything about keyboards.

He has a great eye for themes and executes them better than anyone.

So true.  The third one I linked with the Nuclear Data keyset convinced me that keysets could be worth the extra cost, but on the other hand it sent me down the disappointing road of trying to acquire a Nuclear Data set for myself :(

[Dernubenfrieken]

Over on reddit /u/techmattr has pretty good photos too, I linked a couple below.

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

His posts are actually what led me to explore keyboard customization and eventually GH! I specifically remember it was the Calm Depths one that made me go "Yep. I need that in my life." Before I knew anything about keyboards.

He has a great eye for themes and executes them better than anyone.

SAme here, the Nuclear Data picture was one of the first posts I saw that really hooked me.

[cryptokey]

Over on reddit /u/techmattr has pretty good photos too, I linked a couple below.

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Those are some great shots.  You might want to submit them (with permission) here:  http://newpics.huntsvillecarscene.com/upload/T4dgzJ/UL

[MAR82]

techmattr always has great shots 

[hashbaz]

I'm in for a copy for sure and agree that it's probably best to keep it small for starters. Though I don't see any reason not to open submissions up to the other forums. Then we can include a little forum logo and username for each photo.

[cryptokey]

I'm in for a copy for sure and agree that it's probably best to keep it small for starters. Though I don't see any reason not to open submissions up to the other forums. Then we can include a little forum logo and username for each photo.

I agree.  I'd suggest to put credits at the end of the book for each photo instead of watermarking, etc, to keep it clean so you don't see a bunch of forum logos everywhere.  Instead, maybe a small name/description beneath each photo, then at the end, each name corresponding to the submitter/forum.  Also, this way there will be less immature quarrels over which forum has more photos and stuff like that. 

[xondat]

It might be nice to have a double page spread of someone talking about whatever is in the picture; an example being a vendor or someone that built a board talking about their journey and why the love it.

[switchnollie]

I'd totally like 1 or 2 of these.

I think you should use photos without watermarks & add in photo credits afterwards when it's ready for print.

Some people have really neat one's but some don't use a watermark so the end product won't look as clean if you see one of Steezus' photos & turn the page to see some plain watermark.

That way it looks more like an organized group as well rather than just a bunch of photos put together.

[Alexiss]

No doubt about it there is some awesome boards and caps coming from people on here.  I would say a book would be AWESOME!!!!!!

[Dernubenfrieken]

It might be nice to have a double page spread of someone talking about whatever is in the picture; an example being a vendor or someone that built a board talking about their journey and why the love it.

It would be really cool to see a little write up from collectors with pictures of their collections and  artisan cap makers and keyset/keyboard/case designers alongside their products. I would love to see say, Matteo with a short paragraph on his design process,  how he got into keyboards, etc and then a series of photos of granite, whitefox, etc, or Binge alongside some of his caps. Not sure how well you could fill that out though and format with other photos, but it would also narrow the process a bit.

[DukeMugen]

NICE, this is great!

I have a few suggestions, if it's ok.

1. Book Size should be at least A4 / A3 size. the A4 size is closer to 10" (which most of you prefer).
but with keyboards like these, details are important. so i think, the bigger pictures the better.

most of the time when you go to a print shop, they will ask you the paper size which is reffered to as "A sizes" (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 etc.)

A3: 420mm x 297mm
A4: 297mm x 210mm

2. the book should be in landscape because keyboards are horizontal.

3. book should be in hardbound cover.

4. Photos submitted should have extra space around the subject to make way for the cutting line during printing and binding.

5. photos submitted should be at least 200 DPI resolution.

Hope this helps! 

[ Specified attachment is not available ]

[demik]

I'll get a few compliments but not too many.

You will once GH snaps out of its artisan cap circle jerk phase.

hahahaha

hahahahahahaha


hahahahahahahahahaha


that's not gonna happen. it's only getting stronger and stronger.


make a small potato section in the back and just look through  the_beast's posts for pics.

[KaminKevCrew]

Dunno.  That's a good question.  What's your thoughts?  I know the layout guys will probably have some really good ideas on how to organize everything.

I'd arrange them by the type of switch they are using: buckling spring, MXs, Alps, Topre, Hall effect… It would be nice to have a short introduction of each of these sections explaining the technology used.

Inside these sections, you could arrange them by size/layout. I personally believe that the pictures shouldn't have a watermark but a description of the picture itself with model, case, keycaps, artisans, and obviously the name of the owner of that board.

Time to buy a new lens for the camera...

My new goal is to take a sexy enough photo to get in that book -.-

I think 50mm are the best for these kind of shots.

I agree. That's what we used for the photos I submitted.

[SamirD]

Over on reddit /u/techmattr has pretty good photos too, I linked a couple below.

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Very, very nice.  Can someone get in touch with him and ask him to submit the originals?

I'm in for a copy for sure and agree that it's probably best to keep it small for starters. Though I don't see any reason not to open submissions up to the other forums. Then we can include a little forum logo and username for each photo.

I agree.  I'd suggest to put credits at the end of the book for each photo instead of watermarking, etc, to keep it clean so you don't see a bunch of forum logos everywhere.  Instead, maybe a small name/description beneath each photo, then at the end, each name corresponding to the submitter/forum.  Also, this way there will be less immature quarrels over which forum has more photos and stuff like that. 

I think credits with forum association will only help to divide rather than unite.  It also puts submitters in a bit of a situation if they're an active member of more than one community.  I think the credit format I posted earlier with a 'by XXX from YYY, photo by ZZZ' after it with XXX=board owner's credit, YYY=owner's location (country may be enough), ZZZ=photog credit should be good.  And all of these credits are what the owners/photogs want--there's no need to be too strict in this area.  :cool:

[Dernubenfrieken]

I'm in for a copy for sure and agree that it's probably best to keep it small for starters. Though I don't see any reason not to open submissions up to the other forums. Then we can include a little forum logo and username for each photo.

I agree.  I'd suggest to put credits at the end of the book for each photo instead of watermarking, etc, to keep it clean so you don't see a bunch of forum logos everywhere.  Instead, maybe a small name/description beneath each photo, then at the end, each name corresponding to the submitter/forum.  Also, this way there will be less immature quarrels over which forum has more photos and stuff like that. 

I think credits with forum association will only help to divide rather than unite.  It also puts submitters in a bit of a situation if they're an active member of more than one community.  I think the credit format I posted earlier with a 'by XXX from YYY, photo by ZZZ' with XXX=board owner's credit, YYY=owner's location (country may be enough), ZZZ=photog credit--and all of these credits are what the owners/photogs want--there's no need to be too strict in this area.

I agree. Put an acknowledgement to the different forums at the end, but just leave it with names/usernames in the book.