Name: Oree Board Walnut
Designer: Oree Design
Location: France
Standard alphanumeric keyboards are generally made from multiple pieces of material. They are usually simple, cheap, lightweight items used as an extension of the computer. Many variations of this standard board have come into the market since personal computers went mainstream, from floppy plastic boards, to lasers that project virtual keyboard letters onto a surface.
French design group Oree has developed a “new” keyboard crafted out of a single, solid piece of premium walnut wood (if Apple made products out of wood, they certainly would be proud of Oree’s design engineering). The board features wireless bluetooth 3.0 connectivity that is compatible with most hardware. To minimize waste, each unit is cut into sheets to preserve the natural wood grain across the product. This assures that material isn’t altered and that the grain pattern matches that of the keys. Each unit is custom made to order and also includes custom letter printing.
As industrial design moves forward, product material and “feel” becomes almost as important as product functionality.“In a world of technology gadgets that are highly impersonal, made of standard materials and designed for rapid obsolescence, we identified a growing aspiration for lasting personalized objects that would have a soul and put people in touch with the most natural material on earth,” explained Julien Salanave of Oree.
If plastic and brushed aluminum doesn’t satisfy your palate, then I suggest getting this beautifully crafted keyboard by Oree.