Laptop Case

Fabric Construction Using Sewing Machine

Ao(Augustina) Liu
Nov 4 · 3 min read
My final design

This week, I was asked for constructing physical objects out of fabric and other materials that can be used for wearable or other kinds of objects.

Requirement

Regardless of my choice of object, my design must satisfy a few requirements:

  • must be made of some kind of flexible fabric or material
  • must use a sewing machine to connect and assemble the component parts of your design
  • must use some sort of fastening mechanism as part of the design (velcro, drawstring, zipper, etc.)

Design

I measured the length and width of my 13inch Macbook Pro. I sketched the draft of the laptop case based on the data I measured. I decided to flip the laptop case after finishing it, which could hide those threadings to the inside of the laptop case so the laptop case is clean and tidy to see from outside.

My sketch of the laptop case

After sketching it out on my draft, I made a felt prototype based on the draft. I used this as a prototype to see how my design worked overall.

My felt prototype

Then, I sewed a finished laptop case based on my sketch and felt a prototype.

My first finished laptop case

Analysis

I asked some students in HCDE 451 about how I should improve my laptop case. Here are the suggestions I collected:

What about the prototype worked well

  • Using thick canvas as the material of the laptop case made the case firm enough to hold the laptop.
  • Having a string and a button attached to my laptop case was sturdy to prevent the laptop from slipping out.
  • Flipping the case after finishing sewing and choosing the white thread made threading almost inconspicuous, which made my laptop looks clean and tidy.

What needed improvement

  • The laptop could also hold some affiliated belongs like chargers and cables so it could fit in everything users need when using their laptops.

What you concluded about the effectiveness of your design from the testing

Overall, the design was very effective. It held the laptop firmly. It looked tidy and clean. However, the laptop case can only hold the laptop now. Other affiliated belongs like chargers and cables could not be fit in. Hence, further improvement was needed to improve the effectiveness of the design.

Final Design

I added a pocket to allow users to put their chargers and cables in, so all the things they need when using laptops are accessible.

My sketch of the final design
My final design with pocket

Reflection

Having a low-fidelity prototype was very helpful. The prototype turned my sketch on the paper into a physical object. It tested my idea to see if it could work or not. Also, having someone from different perspectives to give suggestions could bring me some new ideas and details I might oversee. Their suggestions improve the effectiveness of the design in general and made the design more desirable,

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade