For the seemingly endless flow of crowdfunding stories that come pouring through turnstile on monthly basis, it’s always nice to hear about a successful Kickstarter campaign that not only managed to get a product off the ground, but also resulted in the establishment of a sustainable business with multiple employees.
Among others, Palette is one of those feel-good stories.
Founded in 2013 by product designer Calvin Chu, Palette is a modular computer control interface platform that consists of snap-together sliders, dials and buttons that are similar to the controls found on a DJ’s mixing board for manipulating tracks. When different components are used to build a personalized system using Palette, a user can ultimately create their own expandable personalized analog computing interface.
So far, the company has been actively collaborating with a number of software companies to help build deep integrations and plans to expand their developments into a community where users can share their own layouts and personal build designs. Although the company has primarily been working with Adobe, the existing setup can be programmed to work with existing hot keys for other software until deeper integration is available.

“We’re creating a new category of hardware and software offering flexibility of both form and function because we recognize that everyone works differently,” says Chu.
“We’re excited to see people use Palette’s hands-on controls to make interaction with your computer more natural and enjoyable.”
Palette is available for pre-order starting at $199. Along with three kit sizes geared to starters, experts, and professionals, Palette will be offering individual add-on modules for a truly custom interface solution.