Tag Archives: ergonomic mouse

Logitech unveils the Lift Vertical – A $69 ergonomic mouse designed for the WFH lifestyle

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Contrary to popular belief, Working From Home (WFH in short) isn’t easy or comfortable. It involves working for longer hours, and sometimes even over weekends. Logitech’s latest gadget is the perfect addition to everyone’s workplace arsenal. The Logitech Lift Vertical sports an ergonomic design that feels like the spiritual successor to Logitech’s MX Vertical mouse… albeit with a pocket-friendly $69.99 price tag.

Designer: Logitech

A part of Logitech’s ERGO Series, the Lift Vertical’s design is directly informed by its need to facilitate a comfortable working experience – “Feel better, do better,” mentions Lars Lauridsen from Logitech’s Digital Wellness lab. The Lift Vertical sports a uniquely shaped form, with a  precise 57° tilt that allows your hand to naturally wrap around it. The design’s origins began with the MX Vertical, which was inspired by the ergonomics of a handshake – the Lift Vertical follows its footsteps, with a refined design that’s 22% smaller than the MX Vertical, making it suitable for smaller hands too.

Driven by the need to achieve a ‘zen-like state’ while working, the Logitech Lift Vertical’s grip sports a zen-garden-inspired horizontal rib texture. The texture, Logitech’s design team explains, plays a visual role, in creating a pattern that inherently feels meditative, while also ensuring your hand doesn’t slip while working. The product’s zen-like experience extends to the buttons and scroll wheel too, as the Lift Vertical comes equipped with a new silent magnetic SmartWheel and 5 silent click buttons (left and right-click, two thumb buttons, and a button under the scroll wheel).

The Logitech Lift Vertical comes in 3 colors (graphite, rose, and off-white) to complement most workspace aesthetics. Portions of the mouse’s body are manufactured from post-consumer recycled plastic, mentions Logitech – with the graphite variant using as much as 70% recycled plastic, while the off-white and rose use up to 54% recycled plastic. The newly unveiled mouse also comes in both left and right-hand varieties, a feature that was missing in the MX Vertical.

The Lift Vertical is priced at $69.99, putting it squarely in the consumer category. The ergonomic mouse runs on a single AA battery, delivering a stunning 2 years’ worth of use on a full charge. It can connect with up to 3 devices via Bluetooth or the Logi Bolt USB receiver, letting you toggle through devices simply by sliding the cursor off one screen and onto the next. The ergonomic mouse also comes equipped with support for Logitech’s Logi Options+ software, letting you configure your mouse’s features and assign shortcuts to its buttons. The Lift Vertical is available on Logitech’s website and starts shipping this April 2022.

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Logitech’s spaceship-like mouse concept is designed to save your wrist

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There is no shortage of ergonomic computer mice that claim to deliver the most painless experience, but this concept turns the solution on its head and transforms the mouse into something completely different.

With the advent and prevalence of laptops and their trackpads, computer mice have mostly been pushed to the background. There are, however, scenarios where the completely flat and smooth surfaces of these trackpads are not only impractical but almost unusable, like with games. Regardless of the reasons, computer mice haven’t completely vanished from the market, but neither have they evolved significantly. They are still an ever-present risk to our wrists, and designers have repeatedly gone back to the drawing board to concoct the most ergonomic mouse around. For one designer, the answer ironically turned out to be quite different from a mouse.

Designer: Jason Wang

Although they have become the essential ways we interact with computers, the keyboard and the mouse are not the healthiest methods for our hands and wrists. Repetitive strain injury and carpal tunnel syndrome can be crippling for today’s generation whose lives and work depend on computers. There have been quite a few ergonomic mice designs available today, including the Lunar Artefacts Pointer Instrument that we reviewed recently, but there is plenty of room for improvement.

Designer Jason Wong went back to the drawing board to reimagine what an ergonomic mouse would look and feel like without being limited to the traditional concept of a mouse. He started out with something that looked a lot like many ergonomic mice, with cutouts and flaps for supporting the fingers. From there, however, things took on a rather strange turn that led to something that is both from the past and the future.

After testing out what looks like a mouse on a stand, Wong ended up with what he describes as a vertical mouse joystick design. Unlike a typical joystick, which predates the mouse, the person won’t need to keep a grip on the device and simply lay their hand on the supporting structure. There is even wrist support to help keep your arm from getting strained while in the position.

While the alien-like form gives the hand and wrist some structural support, the materials that Wang chose are meant to offer both comfort and visual identity. A fabric mesh covers the hand and wrist support surface for comfort, while rubber coating offers a better grip. There are shifts in material from metal to plastic to create a visual break, though that, unfortunately, does imply the use of some unsustainable materials.

This concept, which the designer dubs the Logitech MX K01, is truly unorthodox in its appearance and design. Its ergonomics try to use the natural vertical position of the hand to avoid straining the wrist, while the flowing lines of the structure provide not only points of visual interest but also ergonomic support for the hand. That said, it’s a concept that probably needs proper clinical testing to verify its ergonomic value, though, at this point, it can hardly be called a mouse anymore.

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Inspired by Adidas, this wireless mouse is redefining ergonomics with its soft 3D printed mesh design

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If you just googled the term Ergonomic Mouse, you’d be met with an entire bunch of mice that looked like they were doing Yoga. The term “ergonomics” refers to the science of interaction with humans covering a wide variety of variables… although a majority of ergonomic mice conveniently focus on just curved form factors. The Squishy Mouse, on the other hand, adds another layer to the meaning behind ‘ergonomic mouse’ – a soft, breathable design.

Arguably enough, what the Squishy Mouse does is look at ergonomics from a broader perspective by considering other products like ergonomic chairs and ergonomic shoes. An ergonomic chair or shoe isn’t just curvaceous, it’s soft and breathable too, and the Squishy Mouse makes the case that mice should essentially follow that same logic. Rejecting the notion that curved hard surfaces are all that an ergonomic mouse really needs, the Squishy Mouse sports a curved lattice mesh body that’s soft and reminiscent of the 3D printed soles seen on Adidas’ AlphaEdge and Futurecraft 3D running shoes. The purpose of this isn’t just to conform to the shape of a human hand, but to actually promote comfort and breathability. With about the same soft experience of a stress ball, the Squishy Mouse lets you firmly grip it during use, and ensures that its mesh surface never gets your palms sweaty, even with hours of constant use.

Designer: Matt Barnum

The mouse was designed originally as a learning exercise for Barnum to perfect his skills using generative design tools. (A GIF image at the bottom shows all the steps)
It rests on a metal base, which makes the mouse easy to use and glide on smooth tabletop surfaces.

The Squishy Mouse comes in the same mint green as the 3D-printed Adidas soles, highlighting that source of inspiration almost instantly. While it’s unclear whether the mouse intends to use the same printing techniques as seen in Adidas soles, it makes sense from a material perspective. Digital Light Synthesis (or DLS) 3D printing allows light to cure resin in complex shapes, creating designs out of flexible elastomers that are much smoother to look at too. In this case, Barnum’s use of the lattice around areas of contact allows those specific areas to remain flexible, while the edges and contours of the mouse are relatively solid, allowing the Squishy Mouse to basically be squeezed or squished without losing its shape. Notably, even the left and right-click buttons have the lattice texture, offering essentially an absolutely new way of input that’s more squishy instead of clicky (whether that’s a win or fail from a haptic point of view is yet to be determined). That, along with the overall texture of the mouse would easily add a new UX dimension during use, and chances are that you’ll either absolutely hate it, or absolutely love it. I, for one, can’t help but feel incredibly curious!

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This inclusive computer mouse redefines the gadget’s design by working using the wrist, no fingers needed!

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Allin is an inclusive, barrier-free mouse that was designed to be ergonomic specifically catering to the needs of amputees and those who struggle to use computer mouses.

Most of us are working on our laptops or desktops for the entire workday, but not without consequence. From our eyes to our wrists, from our posture to our bums, we go through physical strain every day just by sitting at our desks and staring at our computer screens while endlessly typing.

Providing their own solution to one part of this daily struggle, Designer Dot conceptualized Allin, an ergonomic mouse designed specifically for amputees and others who have trouble operating desktop and laptop mouses.

Constructed with a curved design, Allin features a soft impression where users can place their wrists to access the mouse’s control functions. Replacing the right and left click buttons with right and left tilt buttons, users simply lean their wrists to one side or the other to click links on their computer screens.

The mouse tilt buttons are positioned at different angles to ensure that the intended button is clicked. The left tilt button clicks at approximately 45 degrees while the right tilt button can be clicked at 20 degrees. Wireless by design, Allin comes with an accompanying magnetic charger that provides the mouse with enough charge to last through the workday.

Primarily designed for amputees and for those who struggle to use computer desktop and laptop mouses, Allin is ergonomically designed to fit every human’s natural wrist movement. Allin is a supplemental computer accessory that can be partnered with any laptop or desktop computer to ease the physical strain that comes with working at a keyboard all day.

Designer: Designer Dot

The magnetic charger provides Allin with the battery necessary for its wireless function.

Embedded technology reconceptualizes the inner workings of traditional computer mouses.

With a minimal outer surface, Allin can adapt to any brand of computer or laptop.

Allin is envisioned in matte black, off-white, blush pink, and lemon yellow.

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This ergonomic joystick-shaped mouse was inspired by the way our hand holds a pencil

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It’s just common sense… your hand’s much more dexterous when you’re holding a pencil versus holding a mouse. Try writing your name on a piece of paper with a pencil, versus on the MS Paint program with a cursor and you’ll see the difference! The fact dawned on Seoul-based designer Foxtail Gihawoo too, that the best way to make a mouse that’s ergonomic as well as precise, was to rely on the pencil-grip technique.

Gihawoo’s Ergonomic Mouse looks like a joystick at first, until you realize that it’s meant to be held at its base like a thick marker instead of at the tip (where one would normally hold a joystick). It sports neat curved surfaces for your hand to rest on, with left and right-click buttons both resting under your index finger in a manner that may require a bit of getting used to. To left-click, simply press the upper button, and to right-click, move your finger slightly lower to hit the lower button. The scroll wheel finds its place naturally under the middle finger, which means you can scroll and click together without shifting fingers around. Ultimately, the design comes with a grippy rubberized surface around its sides, boosting dexterity, and even though the mouse isn’t ambidextrous, one can easily manufacture left-handed variants for people who require it.

Designer: Foxtail Gihawoo