wellkeyed

Wellkeyed is a hypothetical framework and community-driven project focused on the design, evaluation, and promotion of efficient and ergonomic keyboard layouts. It aims to provide a common vocabulary and tooling for comparing layouts, while encouraging experimentation and accessibility. The project views typing efficiency as a combination of finger travel, hand alternation, and cognitive load, rather than a single metric.

Originating in keyboard enthusiast and accessibility circles in the early 2020s, Wellkeyed consolidates layout catalogs, evaluation scripts, and pedagogical resources in an open repository model. Contributors describe wellkeyed layouts as designs that reduce unnecessary finger movement, balance workload between hands, and support non-standard input methods and languages where possible.

Core principles include minimizing lateral finger movement by favoring central keys, balancing demand across hands, preserving standard key functions for common words, and enabling easy remapping for users with different keyboard hardware. The framework also emphasizes accessibility, offering high-contrast visual aids and alternative input modes for users with motor disabilities.

Tools and features commonly cited in Wellkeyed ecosystems include a layout catalog with community-rated entries, automated metrics such as estimated keystroke distance and same-hand proportion, simulators that approximate typing speed, and integration with popular key remapping and typing tutor software. Some implementations provide interactive editors that let users prototype layouts directly in supported environments.

Adoption remains primarily within hobbyist communities, typists seeking efficiency gains, and manufacturers exploring experimental layouts. Wellkeyed is not a standardized specification, and results can vary with language, corpus, and user familiarity, though it serves as a central reference point for discussion and comparison.

See also: keyboard layout optimization, Dvorak, Colemak, ergonomic typing.