Paragon Introduction
My friend and I designed a keyboard for fun over the summer of 2020. We published the design as an interest check to test the waters and after over 3,000 responses, we formed a company to produce and sell our first keyboard. We decided to partner with Keebwerk, a German manufacturer, to refine the design and produce the Paragon. We currently have 5 vendors covering various regions to bring the Paragon to market.
Relevant Links for the Paragon
Geekhack: The source of the original Paragon Interest Check
Keebwerk: Learn more about Keebwerk and the boards that they design
Learn More about the Paragon
You can read more about the Paragon design here. Renders allow designers to produce realistic images of products before they reach the market. Keycap designers and consumers can use the Paragon render file to visualize finalized build combinations before both the Paragon and third party keycaps are produced and assembled together. View more paragon renders here.
Vega Wrist Rest Introduction
The Vega won the Mech Madness 2021 Keyboard of the Year competition. We designed a wrist rest to match the Vega’s aesthetics. The wrist rest is machined out of a solid block of aluminum and anodized in a matching finish.
Relevant Links for the Wrist Rest
Geekhack: Source for the original Wrist Rest Interest Check
Learn more about the Wrist Rest
After opting for an aluminum wrist rest, we decided to test a variety of finishes. The first prototype was finished in an anodized blue finish while the second prototype was anodized in black. We decided to explore an e-white finish along with a copper variant. Learn more here.
Keyboard Design
Paragon
The Paragon is a 75% gasket-mounted keyboard with a rotary encoder. The brass weight features the San Francisco skyline with a PVD finish.
Base Configuration Options Available for Purchase:
- Color Options:
- E-White
- Black
- Deep Navy
- Gunmetal
- Purple
- Weight and Knob PVD Options:
- Gold
- Silver
- Plate Options:
- Aluminum
- Polycarbonate
- PCB Options:
- Hotswap
- Solder
- Plate and Case Foam
- Poron Gaskets
- Necessary Hardware
The Paragon ran in January 2022 in five global regions:
- US: Vala Supply: 300 units, opened at 10 AM PST on January 8th
- Canada: Deskhero: 75 units, opened at 9 AM PST on January 7th
- EU: Candykeys: 75 units, opened at 7 PM GMT +2:00 on January 8th
- Asia: iLumkb: 75 units, opened at 4 PM SGT on January 9th
- Oceania: DailyClack: 50 units opened at 11 AM AEDT on January 8th
The Paragon features a solid aluminum construction with a brass weight. The board is either anodized or electrophoretically coated while the brass weight is PVD finished. The Paragon went on sale after 1.5 years of prototyping, generating over $500,000 in revenue.