More Than Just a Phone Case: A Story of Creativity and Resourcefulness
In this article, I’ll share my journey of using creativity to save money and develop a unique personal style. Specifically, I will address the following:
What was the issue that I faced?
What idea came to mind?
What did I do?
What feedback did I receive?
What changes did I make to the original idea?
And then what?
What was the issue that I faced?
In our world, people are perceived as wealthier and more attractive when they dress in vibrant colors and unique, stylish clothing. This was especially apparent to me when I was 19 years old and spent every day on streets filled with shops selling clothes, jewelry, mobile phones, and accessories.
I remember one of the guys in the group would wear different socks every day, and one of the girls had a closet full of shoes and never wore the same pair twice. Naturally, I also wanted to have something unique that I could change every day to stand out like them.
A Room Overflowing with Closets Full of Shoes
At that time, custom phone cases with personalized designs were just becoming trendy, and Instagram was flooded with ads for these types of cases. It seemed like a great option for me, as I could design the perfect custom design and have it printed by them. However, when I did the math, I realized that I couldn’t afford it at all. So, I had to let go of the idea.]
What idea came to mind?
I was really upset that I couldn’t do it. But I was even more upset that everything I wanted to do required money. At the time, I was making a small income from freelancing in visual and graphic design, so I couldn’t afford to set aside any of my earnings for this.
I was thinking about how I could get something special for myself. I would go out with the guys and keep an eye out for anything that could be unique to me. Days passed and I was still thinking about it.
One night, when we were all gathered at a cafe with the guys, my friend Michael picked up his phone from the table and called everyone over. He took off his phone case and pulled out a $100 bill from behind it. He laughed and said, “I can buy all of you with this money! But I put it behind my phone case so you can all be jealous.”
Phone case with a $100 bill inside
Jack immediately replied, “Did you know that prostitutes put money behind their phones to signal their clients?”
The whole table burst out laughing and the guys started teasing Michael. But an idea sparked in my mind: I could also turn my phone case into a unique feature for myself by putting a printed design on the back.
What did I do?
I knew I could do it, but I needed to practice a few times to get it right.
As soon as I got home, I went to my computer and created an A4-sized file in Photoshop. I grabbed a metal ruler from my closet to measure my phone. (At the time, I was so excited that it didn’t occur to me to simply look up the exact dimensions of my phone online.)
I carefully measured the dimensions and even marked the location of the phone’s camera so that the important part of the design wouldn’t be covered. The case I had at the time didn’t have glass on the bottom, so I also marked that area so the design wouldn’t be hidden.
What I had at that time
Once I had created the template, I converted it into a smart object so I could easily edit the design inside it.
Screenshot of a design in Photoshop
Now it was time to design what I wanted to print. I had some great photos on my phone, and I selected three that I thought would look good. I edited them to prepare them for printing.
I edited each of the photos. For example, I extended the length of one photo using Photoshop, and I reduced some of the details in another. I also improved them by slightly manipulating the colors.
Adding designs to smart object
The output used for printing
I exported the file and went to the nearest copy shop near my house. I gave the file to the employee and asked them to print it in A4 size in color.
I wasn’t completely satisfied with the result. The printing machine had a small defect and printed some of the colors incorrectly. It also left some small white lines on the print. However, it was enough for me to test my idea.
I quickly went home and grabbed a cutter from the toolbox in the storage room. I started cutting the paper and sizing the design to fit my phone case.
The result was really good. It wasn’t perfect, but it made me very happy at the time.
Final output
What feedback did I receive?
I was excited to show off my new phone case to my friends. I had spent the day designing and printing it, and I couldn’t wait to see their reactions.
We met up at a cafe on Saturday evening. As soon as we started greeting each other, Sarah said,
“Did you get a new phone case?”
“No, just a new design ^_^” I replied with a smile.
Throughout the evening, a few other people also noticed the change. I was thrilled that my idea had worked. I had created something unique that would set me apart from everyone else.
What changes did I make to the original idea?
I had been using this same design for a while and received positive feedback from various people. I thought it was time to improve it, but before doing so, let’s analyze if it’s worth the effort and investment.
Is this cost-effective?
One of the most important factors was the cost. I had to calculate how much it would cost to print five different designs and buy a better frame.
Since our currency is not the dollar, I will give the costs in dollars. These are not real numbers, but the cost ratios are correct.
If I ordered from stores, I would have to pay $50 for each custom-designed frame.
But if I did it myself:
I could buy a clear glass frame for $20 to better display my designs.
Instead of printing the designs in A4 size, I could print them in A3 size because I could fit 7 designs on an A3 sheet instead of 3 on an A4 sheet.
For better quality, I could use light glossy paper instead of plain paper because it doubles the clarity and attractiveness of the printed designs. The cost of printing light glossy paper in A3 size was about $5.
So I could get 7 frames with custom and different designs for $25, while I would have to pay $350 to buy the same number of frames from stores. That was a really good saving for me.
Will this be worth the time investment?
Another factor I considered was time. How much time would I need to do this myself? Would it take too long?
I thought back to the last time I printed a design and estimated the time I spent.
I realized that if I did it myself, I would need to spend about 2 hours creating the designs, plus one hour for round-trip travel to the print shop, and about 1 hour for cutting and sizing the design for the back of the frame. I could do all of this in less than a day and end up with 7 new designs for my frame.
On the other hand, if I bought my frame from a store, I would have to wait for it to arrive in addition to the time I spent designing it. According to their policy, I would have to wait at least 3 business days for my frame to arrive, not even considering the time it would take to place the order.
Which of these two methods was more appealing to me and gave me a better feeling?
My ultimate goal was to enjoy myself. I wanted to be happy with what I was doing and feel good about it. That feeling was strongest when I could proudly tell others that everything they saw was made by me.
And then what?
There wasn’t much left to talk about, so I took action. I printed new designs and bought a new case.
It’s been two years since then, and during this time I’ve received great feedback like: “Did you buy a new phone? — Where did you find this?” It really made me feel good.
Now, every once in a while, I print new designs and I really enjoy it. I even created some special designs for when I’m feeling good, bad, angry, or stressed, and even to match my phone case with the clothes I wear.
Here are some pictures of the designs I’ve printed so far.
You can view the photos in higher quality at this link.
A sample implementation
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