Customization in accessories for mobile devices is a growing trend. It started from skins, but now you can get a personalized book-style cover, plastic case or a zip sleeve, as well.
Sites that focus on customization offer now covers not only for most popular devices, like iPhone or iPad, but for other brands as well.
What’s most important, the customization doesn’t only mean that you can select from a list of available options. It also means that you can modify the existing design, or create your own one, completely from scratch.
In the list below you’ll find best sites. These are our recommendations – if you believe that other sites should be added, please leave a comment.
Not ready for something more crazy? You don’t have to order anything, just get inspired and compare how much of your personality is lost just because of the fact you decided to pick up a cover most other people did.
Custom covers for tablets, e-readers, and phones
1. Etsy
Here at Ebook Friendly, we write a lot about Etsy. This is one of the places you visit if you want to be sure you won’t meet anyone in town with the same clothing or accessory.
Etsy is a wonderful alternative to official accessories. Items you’ll see here are on the other side of the taste buds. You’ll see here wonderfully colorful, surprising, cute covers, they look almost like you were touching your favorite toy.
To find an item that you can personalize, check “Customizable” box in the left sidebar
There are two levels of customization on Etsy:
- in general: all items are made to order
- some shop owners offer customization options
Made to order
The process of buying is a personal contact between the seller and the potential user. You will not contact an automation script, and this is a big benefit.
Etsy artists can usually adjust their design to the device you own. In a message to seller you can specify which one you own (giving the dimensions is also good).
Read the description of the item, and you may discover, that it can be fine-tuned with alternative design detail, for example a color of an external pocket.
Also, once the conversation started, and you haven’t found in item’s description the option you like, you can ask the seller if there is a possibility to get one.
A person-to-person interaction is a way to get a customized cover beyond what’s in the original offering.
Extra customization options
Some sellers offer the way to further customize the covers.
Not only a selection of colors, textures, or a material used is offered. You can also order a cover with a special text and design on it.
For example Kari Rhoads offers Kindle cases that you can personalize by adding the monogram and other customization options:
- you can choose the monogram design (circle or script)
- you can choose the number of initials (from one to three)
- you can select the color of a monogram (over 20 to choose from)
- you can select a background color/pattern (also 20 to choose from)
- you can choose the color of the spine (brown or black)
Below there is a list of our favorite Etsy shops with customized tablet, e-reader and smartphone covers:
- Kari On Designs – custom monograms, selection of background colors and patterns
- Iris and Lilly – you can add a 3/4-inch silver embellishment with your initials
- Little Pigeon Crafts – choose font types and chevron fabric to personalize the cover with your name
- Stylish Case – personalized plastic cases – custom nameplates (fonts and colors)
- Little Goddess Boutique – select fonts, color, and design of nameplates
- Cook Case – 3D-printed custom cases – background colors, nameplate design and color, case finish (matte or glossy)
2. Caseable
Caseable is the best possible destination if you want to have full control over the design of the cover, but most of all, if you want to have fun creating it.
The site offers hundreds of ready-to-use designs from artist collections. Trendy patterns, urban designs, vintage photos, abstract compositions, retro style, typography, you name it.
A selection of covers is top-notch. You’ve got the impression that you’re not dealing with tech accessories, but with a fashion brand.
Unique designs are a first level of letting the cover fit your personal style. The next level is that you can create your own cover using a simple online customization dashboard.
There are three major options:
- you can select base color of the outside, as well as the inside of the cover
- you can add you own photo or artwork
- you can add text, pick up font face and color
The number of options is literally endless.
What’s more, and this is very exciting, you don’t have to design a cover from scratch. You can also pick up an existing artist’s design and modify it.
For instance, you can remove a picture from front, add color and text (like I did in the example shown below). By the way, having a duo-color cover is something really enjoyable, don’t you think?
Every cover, case, or sleeve on Caseable is made to order. The images are a full bleed print and they have a photo quality.
Covers are designed for specific models, so, for instance in iPad cases there are magnets that support sleep/wake feature.
Most popular artist collections on Caseable are:
3. Decal Girl
There are a few established sites that originally offered customized skins for mobile devices, and they expanded into cases as well. Decal Girl is one of the best destinations.
Just like in Caseable, you can pick up from hundreds of designs, and on top of that you can create your very own case using a customization panel.
Besides skins, there are plastic hard cases on offer – for iPad (including Air and Mini Retina), iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4, and HTC One.
There is no way to add extra content on default designs, so you either pick up the design or create your own from scratch.
A very nice thing is that you can choose what kind of finish you like. You can get a shiny “high gloss” clear finish, or a smoother “matte/satin”. The latter one reduces glare and fingerprints.
A part of the purchase is a free wallpaper with a matching design. You’ll get it delivered immediately to your email after placing the order.
4. Papernomad Griffin
Customizing the covers is fun, but should it stop before the purchase?
Meet Papernomad. Offered by Griffin, this is a line of organic sleeves and cases that you can doodle on. In other words, you customize the sleeve not before, but after the purchase. And the fan never stops, as you can add a new scribble any time you want.
Currently you can get (and doodle on) sleeves for iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy, and MacBook Air (11″ and 13″). Folio cases are available for iPad 4/3/2 and iPad Mini.
You can use a pen, pencil, a paint, or a crayon to put a custom design on the Papernomad sleeve. And you can be sure it won’t fade out. The paper is water- and tear-resistant. It’s a patented composite, created from several layers of paper and biopolymers.
5. Amazon
You may not know it yet, but you can customize the Kindle cover without leaving Amazon.
The new section has started a couple of days ago, and you can put together a more personalized cover or skin for any Kindle model that is currently available on the market.
There are selected covers, sleeves or skins for each Kindle, that are ready for customization. The new, fancy Origami cases for Kindle Fire HDX are also on a list.
You can customize back and/or front. The choice of images is pretty limited, and don’t expect such great designs as from Caseable. You can add your own photo though, and that opens a way to fully customize the cover.
There is no option to add text. If you want to include initials of the person you want to gift the cover, you’ll have to include the text in the photo to upload.
• • •
If giants like Amazon entered the area of customization, that means there is a serious trend to escape from basic cover designs.
There are over 180 million tablets expected to ship in 2013. Wouldn’t it be nice to see more colorful and inspiring designs like the ones you’ll create by your own?
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