deskthority

Realizing that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I am nevertheless interested in your opinions. Regarding the HHKB Pro 2, which combination do you think looks best:

White body, White Keycaps
White body, Black Keycaps
Black body, White Keycaps
Black body, Black Keycaps

In each case, you could also consider Printed or Unprinted Keycaps. In addition, by "White" I actually mean the white and light gray set for the HHKB Pro 2.

Other variants might also be possible, e.g., orange RF keycaps.

FYI, my HHKB Pro 2 is the black model with black printed keycaps. Yesterday, I put the white keycap set on it for legibility, but I also think this combination looks good.

When I first heard about the HHKB, I was all over the white model with stock blank white caps. I've come to respect black dyesub legends on white caps on my IBMs since then, especially when they're classic Helvetica, and my opinion has changed. Now the apple of my eye is the HHKB in white body and white caps, with legends.

As for the other combinations, I'd put the white caps, black body combo above the rest as the white caps are a huge improvement on the blacks far as I'm concerned. Ironic as it may seem for someone who does still appreciate blank caps, legibility matters! I think Topre's black legends on black caps is a daft bloody idea and I'd steer clear of them. Better with true blank black caps than the crouching ninja legends.

That said, the combinations are still all fundamentally good. Well, until you start slapping skulls and krazy kolors on the poor things. It takes a bit of scrubbing to wash off the greatness, but it is still possible.

Muirium wrote:When I first heard about the HHKB, I was all over the white model with stock blank white caps. I've come to respect black dyesub legends on white caps on my IBMs since then, especially when they're classic Helvetica, and my opinion has changed. Now the apple of my eye is the HHKB in white body and white caps, with legends.

As for the other combinations, I'd put the white caps, black body combo above the rest as the white caps are a huge improvement on the blacks far as I'm concerned. Ironic as it may seem for someone who does still appreciate blank caps, legibility matters! I think Topre's black legends on black caps is a daft bloody idea and I'd steer clear of them. Better with true blank black caps than the crouching ninja legends.

That said, they're all good. Well, until you start slapping skulls and krazy kolors on the poor things…

Thanks, Mu. Very sensible suggestions. Now that I have the black body/white caps combo, perhaps the next one will be the standard white body/white caps version. I will definitely pass on the skulls. As for colors, I might try color-coding the cursor diamond, Fn key, and left-Option key (which I have at least temporarily remapped as an extra Fn key). It would be nice if Elitekeyboards would get some Topre keycaps in stock with colors other than yellow and orange, although these might be fine for just a few of the caps. Just in time for Hallowe'en.

I also tend to share your views regarding black legends on black caps, which seem to be designed for aliens whose visual systems are tuned to different wavelengths and/or different perceptions of contrast than we humans employ. Indeed, rather than cheating and being a faux ninja, one should be honest and go with black blanks, or walk on the bright side with white blanks.

My suspicion is that whomever first foisted black-legended black keycaps on the market had actually made a mistake, but then thought, "Hey, we might actually be able to sell these!" They've been banking on the fact that enthusiasts would not wish to be the first to admit that the emperor was wearing essentially invisible legends. There I go mashing my metaphors again....

Based on a very limited survey of people dropping by my office, where I have both the black body with white/gray keycaps and the white body with white/gray keycaps, thus far, everyone prefers the black body with white/gray keycaps. I also prefer the black body with white/gray keycaps.

I'd say this:

All white > black case with white caps > all black

The caps are all blank ofc I somehow love the clean look of blank keyboards ever since the first time I saw one.
A plus would be the red esc key wich I love! I don't like clacks... they turn a serious looking keyboard into a toy

I love the dark gray with white / light gray keys blank !

I like black body and white caps from the photos I see. So, I went for the black HHKB with the hope that one day I will get a blank white key caps.

Is this very different than all white?

This thread is lacking pictures

Heres mine! I alternate between white blanks and black printed. At the moment I have them mixed!