Susan Kare is a legend in the Mac community (and in technology in general), having created the icons for the original Macintosh. She’s still an active artist and her latest collection is perfect for anyone looking for something that speaks to your inner whimsy in these modern times.
With the Esc Keys, Kare designed 32 icons in her recognizable bitmap style. The icons exclude anything Mac-associated, so you won’t find a Happy Mac or Clarus the Dogcow here. But you will find a smiling lightbulb and not one, but two dogs. Asprey Studio’s Alistair Walker, who commissioned the collection, told Fast Company that the icons represent things to do away from the computer. “It’s a reminder not to be a keyboard warrior,” said Walker.
Asprey
The icons are available as keycaps that can be inserted into mechanical keyboards (which means you can’t use them on Apple’s Magic Keyboard). The keycaps don’t come cheap, with silver costing $644 and gold vermeil costing $1,031. A few icons, including Flower 1 and Alien, are available as necklace pendants for $1,417 (silver) or $2,061 (gold). All purchases include a digital version of the icon inscribed on the blockchain.
The collection is having a limited run, so if you really want a gold vermeil Panic button for your keyboard, you should act fast. If you don’t want to spend so much but still want some of Kare’s Mac work, check out kareprints.com, where she sells prints of her work. You’ll find Happy Mac, Dogcow, the Mac Bomb icon, and even a hand-painted canvas pirate flag like the one touted by the original Mac development team.