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Laptop Sleeves, Skins and Stickers

By Smashing Editorial, March 17th, 2008 in Inspiration | 120 Comments | Forum

Sometimes laptop is more than just a device. Using laptops over years, some of us tend to develop a genuine affection toward their little (or not so little) companions. We take care of them, putting them in a nice hand-made fabric, spicing them up with some fancy outfit and providing them with a personality using laptop skins. That’s not as bad as it sounds, and there are many ways to use laptop decoration (or laptops decorated by other people) as a source of inspiration. In some way you may also call it laptop art.

In this issue of monday inspiration series we provide you with some fresh ideas to spice up your environment with laptop skins, engravings, sleeves, cases and stickers. In the end of this post you’ll also find some experimental ideas for laptop decoration — caution, you don’t really want to replicate them at home or at office — well, at least if you care about your laptop.

Apparently, Apple geeks are far more emotional when it comes to accessories for their laptops — although we’ve tried to cover as many different ideas as possible, in the selection below many of the presented ideas are used on Macs. There is nothing we can do about it, really.

Laptop Skins and Engravings

Shalgo Laptop Designs
This Dutch company offers a number of the so-called mozaikits which you can place not only on your laptop, but also, for instance, on walls. Stylish.

Awesome Designer Laptops
Well, these are indeed… unusual. And it is damn hard to make something like this on your own.

HP Pavilion dv2800t Artist Edition
An artsy laptop manufactured by Hewlett-Packard.

Computerlicious Designer Laptops
Engadget shows off some pretty beautiful designer laptops, decorated with fabric and leather.

MacBook skin
In most cases you can use your own skin designs and let some skin printing store print them out for you. That was the case here.

Apple Art
Stylish. And pretty cool.

GelaSkins
Here you’ll find some artistic laptop skins (art, design, typography etc.)…

Schtickers.com
…even more various laptop skins.

Laptop Decoration
Laptops can also be decorated with a… well, simple pen.

Finnish Black/White Macbook
Engravings seem to gain on popularity nowadays.

Powerbook, engraved
Ode to the Apple. You can also watch the video of how it’s been done.

Laser engraved Black MacBook
A masterpiece by EngraveYourTech.

Rhinestoning a laptop
Have you ever thought about rhinestoning your laptop?

Laptop Bags and Sleeves

Designer’s Bag Case
This is sexy. A notebook-bag case for “thin” laptops.

Screenshot

E.square 60s-style laptop bags
Laptop bags weren’t around in the 1960s, but if they were, they would possibly look like these E.square 60s-style laptop bags. Price: $54.95. [via retrotogo]

Velvet Idole cases
Velvet Idole’s “Pinguins” Print. Computercase in white calf leather. Lining in black cotton. Price: 75€ [via Cool Hunting]

Thorn Berry’s Laptop Sleeve
A hand-made laptop sleeve with a layer of wadding between the outer fabric and the lining. And with the designer’s name on it. Gorgeous!

Terry Laptop Case
A juicy laptop case for geeky girls out there. Price: $125.

Vinyl Laptop Sleeve
Aren’t they sweet? And yeah, this is a laptop sleeve.

Pinguins Leather MacBook Sleeve
Folds around the laptop. Unfolded it functions as workspace with an integrated mousepad.

Seejanework Cases
Looks like a CD-storage, but it is a pretty cozy laptop sleeve.

Giles Miller’s corrugated cardboard laptop case
Sturdy, stylish, and sustainable. This cardboard is 100% recycled. You can also personalize it with custom designs such as one’s initials (or an apple logo — as shown here).

Eoin McNally’s Packaging Case
The idea is people should recycle the cardboard that their laptops arrive in by reshaping them it into a protective carrying sleeve. The cardboard casing your computer ships in is treated with natural wax to protect it from spills and as an alternative to the usual polystyrene foam peanuts. We’re not sure we would actually use the handle to carry the laptop in one of these things.

Laptopwallet
Laptopwallet is designed to hold the laptop really snug. The slim design keeps a laptop safe and enables you to carry it, either using the wrist-strap, in your hands or in a bag without being bulky. Currently sold out. [via Thisnext]

Laptop Decoration: Sweeties and Cuties

Sometimes simple decoration isn’t enough. In fact, you can not just put a skin on your laptop or engrave it, or even use some fancy sleeve to give it a new outfit. No, you can go far further, use spray paints, decals and feather boas. You can also simply get some sweet accessoires for your old friend as well.

Monster Laptop Sleeve
“Handmade and available in four different colors, the case reminds us of a fanged cousin of cookie monster. Plus, it looks more like something that would hold a Fisher-Price computer, as opposed to a Sony or Apple — keeping would-be thieves guessing.” Price: $65. [via Uncrate]

Pink Hello Kitty Laptop
“How to make a PHKL (watch out the pronunciation!) — ‘Pink Hello Kitty Laptop’. This is a project for two people, you and a friend, with notable guest appearances by your meddling boyfriend. Boyfriend is optional. “

*Craser’s laptop cover
“It’s a simple furry cover, first time I sew something that big. spend the whole afternoon hand sewn and it fits perfectly!”

Hard Drive
Karim Rashid’s portable hard drive. Currently unavailable.

Getting ready for OSX Leopard
Leopard patterned (furry) plush. If you have an external hard drive lying around, such a plush will cost you around $10.

Macbook Sleeve
Fabric patterns, hand-made.

Laptop Cozy
A new home for the beloved one.

Laptop Cozy
Well, now it feels cozy.

Laptop In Fabric
Soft and nice.

MacBook laptop sleeve
“I sewed my new Macbook a laptop sleeve! No pattern, just a zippered pouch. Starting fabric size 14.5″ by 10.5″. Fabrics are Denyse Schmidt quilting cotton, pink silk Dupioni for the lining, unknown cotton blend for the pocket, and wool felt (2 layers on each side) for the padding.”

Stickers

Stickers are always extremely subjective and that’s why also very personal. If you’d like your laptop to reflect the unique personality of its owner, stickers might probably be the easiest way to go and therefore a first option to consider. Besides, often they are simply cool and it’s a lot of fun to observe strangers reading them. You’ll find many more stickers in the Laptop Stickers Flickr Pool.

Jedibook w/ Technorati sticker
Unfortunately, Smashing magazine isn’t sticked here.

Powerbook stickers
In most cases stickers are pretty unusual; however, often personal music preferences are combined with the stickers of web-services the laptop owner uses.

Laptop stickers
Interesting idea: Bruce Sterlings puts his flight tickets on the top of his laptop.

The first sticker on my new mac
Well, that’s a good start.

Robogames
Often stickers are messages the owners send to everybody who will have the luck (or misfortune) to meet the owner of the laptop.

Stickered iBook
Christopher Phin is a car fan.

Tantek Çelik’s stickers
Tantek Çelik is XFN-friendly and enjoys playing games.

Stickered iBook
Caution: robots! Cute!

Notebook V1.1
Karin Lizana is a code poet, uses Ubuntu and loves Berlin.

Patrick Crowley’s stickers
Oh-oh. We have a tough guy here.

Experimental ideas (Don’t try this at home!)

Datamancer’s Steampunk Victorian Laptop
This may look like a Victorian music box, but inside this intricately hand-crafted wooden case lives a Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop that runs both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. It features an elaborate display of clockworks under glass, engraved brass accents, claw feet, an antiqued copper keyboard and mouse, leather wrist pads, and customized wireless network card. The machine turns on with an antique clock-winding key by way of a custom-built ratcheting switch made from old clock parts. Video is included.

Dave Veloz’s Steampunk Monitor & Keyboard Remake
This is a wedding gift. The intersection of technology and romance is possible. Dave Veloz created this beauty for his soon to be wife in time for their recent wedding. [via Cool Hunting]

SattaMac - 1991 PowerBook 100
No, this Powebook doesn’t work any longer. But it looks pretty fancy. Painted Apple machinery.

Xbox 360 Laptops
These posts also include a video of laptops in use.

Steampunk Monitor For Chic Geeks
Steampunk one more time.

Atari 800 XE Laptop
Designed by Ben Heck.

Duke Nukem Laptop
This one is kind of freaky, but pretty unusual. It used to be a NEC.

Last Click

Cassette Tape Tote Bag
OK, this one is not for laptops. But it looks pretty amazing.

Digg Case Mod
For Digg lovers.

Chocolate Laptop
Mmmm, tasty. Ok, it’s time for a coffee break.

What’s in there for your laptop?

Published in Inspiration, March 17th, 2008
Tags: covers, engraving, inspiration, laptop, notebook, sleeves, stickers

1.

superxtian (March 17th, 2008, 4:57 am)

so creative, wonderful, like it!
2.

Zarathustra (March 17th, 2008, 5:08 am)

What a mess, not a single one improves on anything. Whoever painted that clown I would pay to stay away from my laptop!
3.

Eric Atkins (March 17th, 2008, 5:09 am)

Why are there so many MacBooks in these photos? Even Lenovo (yeah, I’ve never heard of them either) sells more mobile computers than Apple.
4.

Marloes (March 17th, 2008, 5:13 am)

Very nice! People become very creative. However, I like my laptop the way it is now. Smooth and shiny!
5.

someone (March 17th, 2008, 5:32 am)

why are you arguing on what computers are up there, are you jealous ?
6.

Mark (March 17th, 2008, 5:48 am)

Some funky and some no-so funky ones :)
Eric Atkins (no.3) , Lenovo is the Chinese company that bought the Workstation division of IBM.

IBM desktops/laptops/notepads = Lenovo
7.

Tadd (March 17th, 2008, 6:02 am)

heh, these are pretty dang ingenious if you ask me. If I had a laptop (and the guts) I’d funk it up with some stickers and fancy paint … though I don’t think I’d go so far as making all Victorian style … as cool as that looks.
8.

Billifer (March 17th, 2008, 6:13 am)

My stickers tell the truth about my MacBook Pro (and about me): The most prominent one is “Parental Advisory: Explicit Content.” Another is for a local taco shop where I hang out all the time. One for my favorite record label, and one for a local radio station where I have guest DJ’ed. The stickers (or what have you) serve in the same way that posters do to college students moving into a dorm: individualization and making it one’s own.

To address Eric (#3): Smashing is a designer-focused site, and designers still by and large prefer Macs. To Zarathustra (#2): There’s no reason that all the millions of MacBook Pros should have that same sleek polished aluminum exterior, or other laptops the same black plastic. Isn’t that antithetical to the idea of design?
9.

FortyPoundHead (March 17th, 2008, 6:16 am)

Alrighty, then. I’ve been toying with the idea of giving my old Dell a new look, and this great article just spurred me into action. Really love the steampunk look, but a little beyond my patience level. So, I am thinking a nice deep blue, maybe some metal flake, then cover it with some high gloss?
10.

Peter (March 17th, 2008, 6:20 am)

@Eric
I think it shows a really big problem for Mac-users. They believe they are very “individual” and “special” because they bought a Mac but (ironically enough) unlike PC laptops every Mac laptop has the same design. Can you imagine how much this hurts?
Well, and that’s the reason why there’s such a huge need for Mac covers and sleeves.
11.

mee (March 17th, 2008, 6:39 am)

Wow, coool.
The grave ones are the best ;-)
12.

Michelle (March 17th, 2008, 6:53 am)

What does it matter whether you use pc or mac? It has nothing to do with this post, or anyone else. If you enjoy your own machine then why care what anyone else thinks.
13.

Martin Fleming (March 17th, 2008, 7:00 am)

Its a shame none of these covers will fit on my alienware. Its a bit embarrassing to sit round a board room table and get out the most ugliest laptop of them all!
14.

jav (March 17th, 2008, 9:05 am)

:B buena idea para negocios.

nice idea for bussiness
15.

Braintrove.com (March 17th, 2008, 9:45 am)

Fun! Some people have way more time on their hands than I ever do!
16.

JM (March 17th, 2008, 10:02 am)

Lenovo used to be IBM. Big Blue sold their PC division to the Chinese company back in 2005.
17.

gene (March 17th, 2008, 10:33 am)

still surprised that there hasn’t been nething super cleverly done w/ the apple on the macbooks. oh and @ Eric (#3), perhaps more people care about their macbooks than their lenovos?
18.

Shane (March 17th, 2008, 11:12 am)

Perhaps it’s just me, but I’m not a fan of the laptop skins - I prefer the original ‘design’ myself. I like some of the designs as they stand, but I’ve never been keen on the idea of customising kit, whether it be laptops, PCs or games consoles.

I do, however like the engravings - I think they’re a little more subtle.
19.

Cosmi (March 17th, 2008, 11:20 am)

I think i want an “Pink Hello Kitty Laptop” lol
20.

Frank de Wit (March 17th, 2008, 11:37 am)

Don’t forget the Link [www.engadget.com]…
21.

Jerlyn Thomas (March 17th, 2008, 5:25 pm)

Really amazing, I got so inspired!
22.

kuldeep (March 17th, 2008, 10:19 pm)

I must say…some are really ugly..but few apple ones are really awesome
23.

Sajid Iqbal (March 17th, 2008, 10:52 pm)

Awesome collection…
24.

Felicity (March 18th, 2008, 12:17 am)

Lots of gimmicks in this post. How about something beautiful AND functional like these Link [www.toffee.com.au]?
25.

Eli (March 18th, 2008, 2:03 am)

I need … to get a macbook … for the sole purpose of putting wicked stickers on it!
26.

Miguel (March 18th, 2008, 8:59 am)

Very good stickers¡¡
27.

payadesign (March 18th, 2008, 9:14 am)

nice
28.

fatemeh (March 18th, 2008, 9:29 am)

greattttttttttttt. wonderfulllllll. thanx so much. i hope to find these in iran,

espacialy “Finnish Black/White Macbook” it is very nice………..

if i was a child i will choose “Pink Hello Kitty Laptop”;)
29.

Momu (March 18th, 2008, 3:24 pm)

Man, you guys are great! Thanks a loot for this wonderful post again!
30.

Mike (March 19th, 2008, 12:23 am)

Thanks a lot! This is incredible!
31.

Gavalian Web Design Studio (March 19th, 2008, 12:40 am)

Awesome !!!
32.

Nick (March 19th, 2008, 4:41 pm)

Great story, it’s amazing to see how many different types of laptop covers there are.

-Nick
33.

Eureka (March 20th, 2008, 9:06 pm)

thanks for a nice post such as this.
34.

sambo (March 20th, 2008, 9:35 pm)

I like “Finnish Black/White Macbook” style.
35.

Nix (March 22nd, 2008, 7:36 am)

Great ideas for custom stickers ;) Thanks!
36.

arlo (March 22nd, 2008, 11:49 am)

How in the WORLD did they leave out voodoo laptops?
37.

quan (March 24th, 2008, 1:53 am)

I would actually prefer the macbook to be plain. But i like the one with the squirrel :P. The Digg Case Mod is cool too
38.

jason buck (March 24th, 2008, 10:31 am)

i use banana stickers :)
39.

kpriss (March 24th, 2008, 1:12 pm)

as much as they look lovely, I couldn’t do this to my laptop. Maybe it’s because it’s not a Mac ;)
40.

canlı tv (March 25th, 2008, 1:47 am)

Hello
People become very creative. However, I like my laptop the way it is now
41.

Eureka (March 25th, 2008, 5:38 pm)

so creative, wonderful, like it!
42.

danny (March 25th, 2008, 7:21 pm)

I have a UT skin on my lappy with Linux stickers all over :D
43.

Moin (March 25th, 2008, 10:22 pm)

Omg! OMG!! OMMMGGG!! :O
44.

Ribaldi, Jose. (March 29th, 2008, 9:44 am)

Realy good ideas to make money. Thanks a lot.
45.

anon (April 4th, 2008, 9:42 pm)

Anyone know if there are clear hard shells for anything but mac’s? Dell’s, HP’s, etc?
46.

nebko (April 8th, 2008, 12:19 am)

Well, it’s pitty you didn’t mention Link [www.skinbook.cz], their design is wonderfull! Pitty for them, that their shop is still not in english. Hope, they’ll change it.
47.

Garret (April 28th, 2008, 8:42 am)

Don’t know about clear hard shells, but you can get custom sleeves for PC from sfbags.com
48.

Jas (May 4th, 2008, 2:06 am)

Great list! I especially love the Monster laptop sleeve on top. Pity I saw this too late because I just bought my laptop sleeve from Link [snupped.com]. Not as unique as the Monster sleeve, but pretty cute still.
49.

V1 (May 13th, 2008, 5:13 pm)

OMG how am I ever going to choose which one to buy for my GF.
they all look great (well mostly)
50.

MacKing (May 19th, 2008, 1:45 am)

I really do like the sleeves you show, but mine is missing. I do have a Wera White from 10TURIO, which fits like a glove to my macbook.
51.

Call of Money (May 30th, 2008, 6:34 am)

Thanks for the straight tip, MacKing. I had a look at 10TURIO.
52.

Vana (July 17th, 2008, 7:21 am)

if you’re interested in the quality sticker on your notebook I personally recommend Link [www.skinzone.cz].
Super design, quality and prices!
53.

Sceek (August 3rd, 2008, 5:26 am)

A great companion product for many of these is the ToteGrip laptop handle. A slip on handle for any notebook computer lets you carry your mobile computer around like a case.
54.

Dani Morereno (August 7th, 2008, 5:59 am)

Muito bom mesmo!!!
55.

Steven (August 19th, 2008, 1:02 pm)

I made my laptop skins with my own design. Every couple of month or so I change it. Sometimes its a team or game or …Megan Fox. I might put the new Lara Croft on the lid soon.
56.

Morning Artist (August 21st, 2008, 9:21 am)

So far, this is the best I’ve seen:

Link [www.etsy.com]
57.

Nicv (August 25th, 2008, 5:36 pm)

This is by far the most innovative laptop case I’ve came across, though it has not been mentioned in here..which is from Link [www.iLappy.com]
58.

YIKES (August 26th, 2008, 4:38 am)

Are some of you spamming and promoting your own crap? “Most innovative ever! You forgot this one”… cut to a pot holder and laptop cozy…
59.

MOin (September 2nd, 2008, 11:18 am)

oh wow some of them are really cool awesome awesome thumbs up
60.

Waldir (November 11th, 2008, 10:20 am)

Veja é legal os skins p;note
61.

Frank (November 11th, 2008, 11:21 am)

I have seen the hello kitty skins from Link [www.boostid.com]. At least in stores. They do laptop and ipod skins and stickers but not sure if there is the hello kitty design for ipod also. You can make your own design if it not already available
62.

James (January 20th, 2009, 1:23 pm)

wow, real good stuff. It shows how incredibly creative human beings are when it comes to ‘improving’ or enriching their environment… truely a joy, especially for those who think, like me, that techie stuff is always to unfashionable. Appart form my beloved iPhone I find it hard to get anything stylish out there. I recently bought a really nice laptop sleeve from a company here in the netherlands called coverbee. Anyone else knows of some really stylish stuff? Would like to have more choice… greets, james
63.

Franklin (February 6th, 2009, 3:47 pm)

Don’t leave out ELECTRICBABY!
We are a wee little, small production , laptop sleeve company with beautiful gear and awesome artist collabs. Please consider mentioning us in this report.
Thanks!!!
64.

Estee (February 13th, 2009, 1:07 pm)

These are genius! Good work to everyone. Just like ridicgraphics and decalgirls stuff. It is inspiring me to put stickers on my laptop like I did my roller skate suitcase when I was younger.
65.

Bharath Kumar (February 16th, 2009, 2:38 am)

they are really cool, i would like to have one of my designs as laptop skins but how do i get the output and only a professional can stick it perfectly without any wrinkles. can some one help me on this…..
66.

Danilo Rodrigues (March 22nd, 2009, 7:27 am)

Cool!
67.

Jaize (March 25th, 2009, 6:51 am)

I saw one from iLappy, it is refurbishable - meaning it can change the skins after few years of usage. A greener and environment friendly laptop case.
68.

Scott Rafferty (April 9th, 2009, 7:22 pm)

You should check out MacStyles. They have pretty cool skins for macbooks and macbook pros.
69.

Sol Geneston (May 9th, 2009, 7:03 pm)

Where do i have my laptop gettin all that cool paint?
70.

danica (May 23rd, 2009, 1:07 am)

i love the pink mini laptop,
i wish a have that today…
:)
71.

Mr Surendra Mehta, Pune, India. (May 28th, 2009, 7:26 am)

Beautiful skins for laptops. I like it. Sent more details on skins, covers, bags etc.
72.

Anthony (May 29th, 2009, 10:43 am)

thumbs up! a very cool way to express one’s creativity. I wanna get one today…very tempting…

I hope it is not too hard to peel the sticker off in case I want to change my design…
Link [laptopcomputerskins.com.au]
73.

Jaspal Singh (June 2nd, 2009, 3:14 am)

Wow! great looking laptop skins, Please tell me from where I can buy similar skins.
74.

Ashely Adams : Sticker Printing (June 7th, 2009, 9:08 pm)

Nice list. At least, it ushers you into a world of exciting possibilities. I think some of the skins featured are pretty cool, especially the more outrageous ones. The best thing is that you can always design and add a customized skin. It’s very easy these days and the effect can be really wonderful.
75.

Alessandro (June 11th, 2009, 1:12 pm)

Here you see stiches on a laptopsleeve :); Link [www.traumportal.at]