UNIVERS
Design Background
"Back when I was a bright eyed and spirited 22-year-old with plenty of time in my hands, I stumbled upon an Apple Extended Keyboard (AEK) II at a Salvation Army. Despite it looking beat-up, I thought it could be a cool weekend project to try to restore it. At first, the Orange Alps Switches were the most interesting to me, but as I spent more time tinkering with it, it was the keycaps that really grew on me.
Though the keyboard hailed from the early 90s, there was something about the typeface, Univers 57 Oblique, that gave those keycaps a modern and inviting look. The balanced and versatile design of Univers brought a timeless charm to the design language that Apple adopted for their keyboards of that era.
Soon enough, I found myself using different variations of Univers in all my school projects- presentations, reports, even the posters we created for the photography club. Like a favorite song on repeat, though, it eventually fell out of my rotation and into the recesses of my mind.
Years passed and here I am, somehow landed a gig where I get to design keyboards for people. That rekindled my love for the AEK II and, of course, for Univers. It felt only natural to dedicate my debut project here to my first typographical love." - Jim
Though the keyboard hailed from the early 90s, there was something about the typeface, Univers 57 Oblique, that gave those keycaps a modern and inviting look. The balanced and versatile design of Univers brought a timeless charm to the design language that Apple adopted for their keyboards of that era.
Soon enough, I found myself using different variations of Univers in all my school projects- presentations, reports, even the posters we created for the photography club. Like a favorite song on repeat, though, it eventually fell out of my rotation and into the recesses of my mind.
Years passed and here I am, somehow landed a gig where I get to design keyboards for people. That rekindled my love for the AEK II and, of course, for Univers. It felt only natural to dedicate my debut project here to my first typographical love." - Jim
Photographer : Krittin Tachasiritanakul
