art. lebedev : optimus popularis keyboard

the ‘optimus popularis’ keyboard by art. lebedev

the ‘optimus popularis‘ by moscow and kiev-based studio art. lebedev is in production and available for preorder.

the tactile keyboard is completely composed of LCD displays, permitting users to assign any image and function to any key. a visualization bar located between the function and numeral rows is retained as a display screen, featuring information like e-mail alerts, automatic stock or weather updates, or current music selection. an ‘fn’ key at the bottom of the keyboard switches the functions of the device.

the ‘optimus popularis’ costs approximately 1086 USD. also available for pre-order is the ‘mini six‘ (covered in this designboom article) and ‘aux‘ keypads.

profile view

the keyboard programmed for use with photoshop, with each key operating as a function

russian keyboard, in colour

split view: english keyboard (left); double language keyboard, russian and english (right)

full view of a sample customized keyboard mode of ‘popularis’

design sketches

rough form prototypes