For anyone who spends hours at a keyboard, the desk becomes more than just a workspace. It’s a personal canvas for self-expression and creativity. Keyboards are no longer just tools for typing, but a way to express personality, nostalgia, and a love for design in the smallest details. Every keycap, color, and texture tells a story about who you are and what you value in your daily environment.
Jelly Key’s Retro TV Series – First Frame artisan keycaps are a tribute to that spirit of personal expression and craft. Inspired by the golden age of home computing and the original Macintosh 128K from 1984, these miniature TVs bring a playful, handcrafted touch to any keyboard setup. They’re tiny works of art that celebrate the intersection of technology and nostalgia.
Designer: Jelly Key
Each keycap is shaped like a retro television, with a 65-degree angled front screen for perfect viewing when mounted on a keyboard. Details like floppy disk drives, power switches, and transparent or frosted back panels reveal intricate miniature “circuitry” inside, echoing the design language of vintage computers that defined an era. The angular, squared-off profile feels both classic and contemporary.
Every keycap is meticulously handmade using resin casting and multilayer coloring, not 3D printing or mass production. The process involves up to 47 hours of work from start to finish, with every component polished, assembled, and quality-checked by hand. Circuit traces measure just 0.3mm wide, requiring razor-sharp precision. Any flaw means starting over from scratch.
The TV screens feature pixel art, pop culture nods, greetings like “hello,” and sci-fi themes, all layered in resin for dimensional depth and vibrancy. With over 200 quirky variations and 12 case designs ranging from crystal clear to vintage frosted, no two keycaps are exactly alike. Themes include “HAL Eye,” “Comic Burst,” “Space Odyssey,” and “Galactic Intro,” among many others.
Transparent and frosted panels allow keyboard backlighting to shine through, illuminating the miniature “circuit boards” and components inside the keycap. This adds a new dimension to your typing experience, especially at night when the glow highlights every intricate detail. The effect is both functional and mesmerizing, turning your keyboard into a light-up showcase.
Each keycap is individually numbered and comes in a wooden box with a medal dog tag and a collectible sticker for authenticity. Orders of 12 or more unlock limited-edition designs and the full sticker set, making these keycaps as much about collecting as about customization. The MX stem ensures compatibility with most mechanical keyboards, while the hand-finished resin offers a unique tactile feel that’s satisfying to touch.
Swapping in a Retro TV keycap turns a routine typing session into a moment of nostalgia and delight, sparking conversation and adding personality to your desk instantly. For designers, writers, and anyone who loves a bit of retro flair mixed with modern craftsmanship, these keycaps are a daily reminder that art and technology can coexist beautifully in the smallest spaces we interact with every day.
The post Keycaps Shaped Like Tiny Retro TVs Take 47 Hours to Handcraft first appeared on Yanko Design.