Owl Writer Is an Ergonomic Writer Deck for Wise Typists
To help keep her wrists healthy and free of tendonitis, Tylersgc built this ergonomic writer deck for his wife.
The standard computer keyboard design and layout that we’re all familiar with is, frankly, bad. We ended up with it through a mix of typewriter-friendly compromises and completely arbitrary decisions that became conventions and then standards. As a result, many of us live with RPI (repetitive stress injuries) like tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. The best solution for people who type a lot is an ergonomic keyboard, which is why Tylersgc built this specialized writer deck, called Owl Writer, for his wife.
The term “writer deck” just recently started gaining traction and refers to cyberdeck-adjacent devices built with a particular emphasis on typing. They tend to minimize the superfluous frills of general-purpose laptops, while maximizing the comfort and efficiency of typing. The proper way to achieve the latter is with a good keyboard and that’s what Tylersgc prioritized with this project.
The keyboard is a Keychron K11 Pro (Alice Layout). It has a QWERTY layout, but with an ergonomic semi-split design that much better suits the natural shape and movement of human hands. It is a good compromise between familiarity and long-term comfort.
That fits onto a custom-designed and 3D-printed enclosure with a laptop-style clamshell shape. Tylersgc printer that on a Bambu Lab A1, which made it possible to print the multi-color owl motif directly into the screen’s back panel.
That screen is a 10.5” touchscreen with a resolution of 1920×1080. Tylersgc paired that with a Raspberry Pi 5 single-board computer. Power comes from two 8000mAh batteries through a UPS module. Tylersgc reports that those batteries have enough combined capacity to provide about 8 hours of use between charges — a number that could surely grow quite a bit with some energy-saving software tweaks.
Owl Writer turned out pretty well, but Tylersgc says that it isn’t perfect. The biggest problem is the weight, as it is quite heavy at around 2.26kg. And a lot of that weight is in the screen, which can cause the entire thing to tip over if the user tilts the screen back too far. But at least Tylersgc has an excuse to develop a second version of Owl Writer.