A friend of mines showed me a custom display cover for laptop computers. I explained to him the price was too high and promised him i could design a better display built into the laptop stand for way less. This is just an example of how some things are made better by doing it yourself!!

Footnote: this was made during a pandemic so my supplies were limited to things around the house. Thanks

Supplies

Lots of Cardboard (of course)
Black Cardboard Sheets
Paper Towel Rolls
Transparent Paper
Dark Black Film or sheet Tint
Glue
Black Duck Tape (Wrapping)
L.E.D. Strip Light

Step 1: The Base

Get two flat thick sturdy (woodlike) peices of cardboard . One to use as the bottom and another set the laptop on. These boards will support your laptop so keep this in mind when choosing material. Cut and shape to dimensions based on your equipment and needs. I used paper towel and toilet paper rolls to raise and support the board that the laptop will sit on. I flattened and line the tubes up and cut them at the desired angle. I then glued them to the bottom of the upper laptop support board. I put the lower support board to the side to attach later. I shaped a strip of cardboard to create a ledge to support the laptop while it sits at the desired angle. I sliced an incision (without cutting) into the strip where I needed it to bend and shape it like a U channel. I glued it to the bottom and used tape to set it while it dried.

Step 2: The Display

This is the magic!!! Print your design on transparent paper. Using solid cardboard, cut two peices according to the desired size for your display. One for the front and one for the back. The front one will need to have a cut out where you choose to have your logo displayed. Cut small strips of cardboard, line the cut out with the strips and glue them to support your L.E.D. lights strips. Attach the strips accordingly. Now glue the back (card board) to the small strips of cardboard that are supporting the L.E.D. light strips and let dry. Tape or glue the logo printout over the area you cut out of the top cardboard peice. Now cut the tinted sheet to fit the card board and tape or glue into place. Using a flex type tape i attached the display to the upper laptop support we created in the last step.

Step 3: Putting It All Together

Now we attach the bottom cardboard that we put to the side in step 1. I used gobs of glue on the bottoms of the tube rolls and once in place I layered extra glue to the exposed tubes. I put some weight on it and let it dry. Here is where you can use card board to customize the stand based on your needs. I built a pocket for my laser display unit to sit in and another logo display at the bottom of the laptop ledge. Design and cut your cardboard accordingly and attach with glue or tape. You will see raw cardboard and it will clearly be known to everyone you got a cardboard (cheap) laptop stand. The next steps fixes that problem!!!

Step 4: The Clean Up

Once everything is dried and set as desired, you can tape and paint everything accordingly. Im no artists and due to the current pandemic I had to use the supplies on hand. I painted and taped. Over everything that looked like cardboard. I used black sheets i got from the dollar tree last year to cover areas as well. I wanted everything black to keep it simple but if your an artist here is where you can put your spin on it. You can use stickers or paint and be as creative as you choose for your desired outcome.