Key symbols we lost to time, pt. 1: The PC side
This article explores the historical evolution of keyboard iconography, focusing on how early computer manufacturers used unique symbols. It highlights the shift from word-based to icon-based design in computing interfaces.
Why it matters
Understanding the history of interface design provides context for modern user experience standards and the standardization of global computing hardware.
Various old computers had their keyboards adorned with unique symbols. Companies like Commodore , Atari , Amiga , or even – in its previous life – Apple chose to put their company logos on keys, and there were other weird and obscure keys on weird and obscure keyboards.
But it was Apple’s recent push to move their American keyboards closer to European ones by embracing more iconography, that made me think of forgotten key symbols less obscure, ones that belonged to platforms we still use today. Even on a Mac and a PC, some key symbols didn’t make it to modern times. So let’s start with the PC side today since that part of the story begins earlier, and do Macs in a follow-up post.
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