Cardboard sign stuck to a computer monitor with the words "HIT THAT MUTE BUTTON" - the mute button is a computer keyboard button

As a side project during this project I bought a Adafruit NeoKey Trinkey - USB NeoPixel Mechanical Key Switch and have tried both using it as a mute button and as a play/pause button for Spotify/whatever audio is playing on my Mac.

This little USB key is so easy to work with - and has some impressive features (the RGB LED and the capacitive touch pad both go unused for this project but might be useful in the future). The keyboard keys that I had spare did not fit with the click-in system so I had to solder short lenghts of wire to the two terminals of the key and trim a little plastic stand off as well, but that took no time. I have some plans for future case ideas - when I get access to a 3D printer I was thinking it could be enclosed in a mini desk-standing bust of Stan Lee (Bruce Wayne Shakespeare bust style), with the head folding open to reveal the button, and could prompt a “What would Stan Lee do?” 8-ball Glitch page to open up… but for now I’ve gone super pratical and low budget cardboard! The only additional thing I needed was a UBS female to male cable to go from the front of my monitor to the back.

A fun little project whilst I’m working on a bigger project. What do you think?