Synthesis

Morphological Chart (above)

Synthesis is the concept of taking multiple ideas and morphin them into one fully formed concept. This doesn't mean looking at one product and merging it with something similar; rather synthesis is the idea of taking the features or capabilities you're aiming for, and have those ideas guide your design. For Erg IO, there were a few categories of features we wanted to take a look at, consisting of Functions, Ergonomics, Ease of Use, Modifiability, and Accessibility. Functions were the most important, because they determined how our product would function as a keyboard. We decided that USB capability out of the box was important, because not everyone who experiences discomfort from prolonged typing is going to be a tech whiz who's going to flash new firmware or installed a separate driver. Additionally, Alphanumeric and Modifier keys were extremely important, as our design is meant to be a fully capable keyboard, not a keypad or macro-pad. Going with an "ortholinear" layout was an interesting choice to make, since about 99.9% of consumers are using keyboard with shifted rows, a standard qwerty feature, however, if you want to type without twisting or moving your wrist, you'll find it very difficult to type of a standard keyboard. Ortholinear keyboards make it so your fingers don't have to move or adjust sideways while typing, instead just reaching for the next highest or lowest key. Since nearly everyone is already used to typing with qwerty, we felt it would be the easiest transition to design Erg IO products to use it as the standard layout, however it should be easily changeable, either in the normal computer environment, or with an Erg IO produced software package. When looking at modifiability, we had two main thoughts: the keyboard would need macro keys, and it had to be adjustable. Not everyone's use case is the same, and some users desire more from a keyboard, such as accented or modified characters, or possibly a button to enable text-to-speech. Macro keys allow users to determine what happens when the key is pressed. Last but not least, the accessibility of Erg IO keyboards should reflect a product that can be obtained by anyone who finds it necessary. This means the boards will be made of easily accessible materials, so as not to drive up cost, and use components that last, so consumers aren't forced to buy a new one after a year of use.