I’m a huge fan of Xbox’s Design Lab, the tool that lets you customize almost every aspect of your Xbox controller. I’ve often wondered, though, if this could be expanded into other gaming accessories, such as keyboards and a custom-look mouse.
Well, it seems Corsair and I were on the same wavelength, as they have launched their own design lab allowing you to do just that. Enter the Corsair Custom Lab, an all-in-one stop to customize the look of your next mouse, keyboard, and desk mat.
Initially launched back in June during Computex, Corsair’s Custom Lab allows customers to customize the look of their K65 Plus Wireless Keyboard, the M75 Wireless Gaming Mouse and one of three sizes of its MM300 mouse pad. While it stops short of being completely personalized - you can’t load in your own custom designs for instance - there are plenty of options to mix and match to create a new look to revitalize your setup.
Personally, my setup, despite the massive amounts of RGB in my case, was starting to look a bit stale. So I was grateful when Corsair offered us a chance to check out the Custom Lab and design my own keyboard, mouse and mat combination as a way to get a feel for the new tool - and to check out the quality in person when they arrived on my doorstep.
Customization Process
For starters, it should be noted that the Custom Lab is currently only available for US customers on Corsair’s website. There isn’t any indication as of yet whether this will expand further beyond these borders, but it does restrict the number of customers who can take advantage of the builder itself.
To kick things off, you can either start out by customizing an individual item or start with a pre-built kit with all three products bundled together. Even if you choose one of the bundles, you can still fully customize each aspect of your device, meaning you aren’t locked into one of the featured designs in the kit should you want to splash something different.
Each peripheral has its fair share of customizable options - well, except the mouse pad. It’s either the standard black mouse pad or a custom design - there’s no way to add and RGB strip around the edges or change some of the stitching on the borders to pop with color.
On the K65 Plus Wireless Gaming Keyboard, there are quite a few options to choose from, including the base frame, the choice between one of 13 custom keycap designs, as well as your choice of keyboard switch (CSR MLX Red, Cherry MX Blue and Cherry MX Speed). You can also add on a wrist rest to match the 75% profile of the wireless keyboard, should you need one.
The mouse also features some customization options beyond the simple colorway. You can choose to kit out the body in one of the custom designs offered by Corsair, as well as change the color of the various side buttons and even the material the mouse skates are built from - PFTE or Glass.
Adding one of the thirteen custom designs on offer does increase the cost—$9.99 for each—meaning that if you want a fully kitted-out set, you’ll pay almost $30 more than if you go with the standard colorways.
The designs themselves are quite beautiful, from the dark blues and purples of the Sci-Fi Dark scheme, or the opposing light Cherry Blossom and Dark Cherry colorways. These aren’t just custom colors, but full-on custom art on the keycaps, mouse face plates, and even the kitted-out mouse pad. My personal favorite was the Cyberpunk-fueled Respawn theme, its electric purples and pinks stood in contrast to the black keyboard frame I chose.
I also felt drawn to the cybernetically augmented skull sitting on the face of the mouse in the design. The neon pink and purple mouse pad reminded me of walking the streets of Fremont here in Vegas at 1 AM, the neon glow reflecting off the pavement around me. It was a striking design and one that spoke to me as someone who grew up amongst the neon, Cyberpunk-ish haze of Las Vegas.
The actual process of customizing my kit was rather simple. I chose the Respawn bundle to get everything at once, customizing the key switches on my keyboard and the color of the side buttons on the mouse. I also opted for the Glass skates on the M75 mouse, though it looks like the mouse sent through was equipped with PTFE skates instead. No matter - they glide effortlessly across the MM300 Large mousepad, offering very little resistance during fast-paced action.
It’s been a while since I’ve used a Corsair keyboard, and the K65 Plus Wireless makes me question why I stopped. It’s a stellar keyboard, and I’m glad it’s the first one of the Corsair lineup to be given the Custom Lab treatment, as it’s a great all-around performer. We reviewed the K65 Plus earlier this year, with Mitch giving it our Golden Hardware badge, and after a week or so with the piece of kit, I have to agree that it’s worthy of the award. The Cherry MX Blue switches I chose are sufficiently clacky, and I really enjoy the two different tent angles I can set the keyboard up to, especially as someone coming from an extremely low-profile Keychron.
So, about those options…
One thing you are going to notice when you head to Corsair’s Custom Lab is the distinct lack of customization - especially on the keyboard - outside of the thirteen listed themes. As of now, there isn’t a way to upload a custom design, nor can you choose from just different colored keycaps outside the specific themes Corsair has gone with here.
I would love to see some custom keycaps outside of the thematic designs, such as pastels, Pride colors, or even something translucent to take full advantage of the K65’s RGB. The metallic knob on the keyboard is also not customizable, but thankfully the nickel color is dark enough that it blends in with most of the designs on offer.
Thankfully, Corsair is adamant that this is just the beginning. The company is teaming up with artists to create custom collections, with three being added: Nacho Customz, Elina Clevergull and Yunzhen Ho.
Corsair also says they are working on new products and designs to add to the Custom Lab down the road, so we may yet see more keycap options, even more, varied designs, and quite possibly more products from the Corsair umbrella to be given the Custom Lab treatment. Additionally, if you have your eye on a white base K65 Plus, this is the only way to do so.
The bundles are also a very nice touch, as it makes it really easy to coordinate and just get the themes that look the best for your set up. By going with the Respawn theme, I completely altered the look of my desk with a single click - going from a black desk pad, black keyboard, and black mouse to quite possibly the most unique setup I’ve ever had at my desk.
Given that Corsair also owns Elgato, it would be cool to see this customization extend to its Stream Deck and Wave products line, allowing for coordination with a Stream Deck + faceplate or even a custom print on a Wave Link unit. One can dream.
I also would love to see the mouse offering expanded to other mice in the line up. Can you imagine customizable art on the side buttons of the Corsair Scimitar MMO mouse? It would be wild to match the rest of the build with something like that. The possibilities could be endless thanks to Corsair's large library of products.
All in all, I’m glad the Custom Lab exists, and Corsair’s early offerings are pretty good out of the gate. I’m hoping that as it grows in popularity and more people use it to customize their setups, it will continue to expand, not just its design catalog but maybe even to other regions. As it stands right now, it’s a great way to add a pop of color and personality to your setup without much hassle, all while snagging some well-built and high-performing gaming gear to boot.
Full Disclosure: The Products described were provided by the manufacturer for the purposes of this article.
