The Kickstarter campaign for Shift Happens: A book about keyboards by Marcin Wichary is in full swing and has thus far surpassed its $150,000 goal, having raised over $500,000 with 2,000+ backers. And there are still over 20 days left to go. Marcin Wichary is the design manager at Figma, a designer at Google and Medium, and a fellow at Code for America. He also volunteers at the Computer History Museum. He says that he’s been fascinated by keyboards for years and realized there has never been a comprehensive book covering the story of keyboards, from typewriters to modern computers. Shift Happens: A book about keyboards fills that space in two volumes featuring 1,300 historical and contemporary photographs of keyboards and 1,216 full-color pages in two books, with 42 chapters covering 150 years of history.
The volumes are 608 pages each and wrapped in a custom slip. Wichary says he carefully curated every photo. Over one-third of them are taken exclusively for the book. What’s more, he ensured that every photo and illustration complements the text. Wichary chose a fine art book printing company and heavy paper to allow intense colors and deep blacks. The process uses stochastic screening to preserve fine detail, color, and sharpness. Wichary says this is likely the only edition of Shift Happens: A book about keyboards. He has no plans for other editions. Top-tier supporters receive a collectible cherry MX-compatible keycap, celebrating 150 years of keyboards created in collaboration with industry-famous designer MVKB. Shift Happens: A book about keyboards by Marcin Wichary is available exclusively through Kickstarter.