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Every once in a while you pass someone on the street or sit next to them on the train and you notice that they have a a really cool looking BlackBerry. It has vivid colors or a crazy wallpaper and you think to yourself: “I wish my device looked like that”.

Now most of the custom BlackBerry models you will see floating around the city are actually modified devices. Whether they have been dismantled, sanded and painted or had a full casing replacement covered in rhinestones, chances are the owners of these slick looking devices have voided their warranty in exchange for a sense of individuality.

You are an Individual Too!

Just because you do not wish to void your device warranty, does not mean that you are unable to have a slick looking device that stands out in a crowd. The trick is to use non destructive methods of customization.

In the early days of cell phone customization folks were limited in what they could do and therefore tended to stick with things like cell phone charms in order to add some personality and identity to their devices. Well times have changed and while you can still find thousands of cell phone charms in stores around the world and online, people have stepped up their game.

Introducing Custom BlackBerry Skins

The new era of non destructive BlackBerry customization is upon us and there are quite a few options that a BlackBerry owner can choose from when truly making their BlackBerry their own.

In this article we will profile two companies on the web that are providing custom skinning solutions for all models of BlackBerry. The first company is called Unique Skins and they allow you to create your own designer skin for your device. If you have some graphic design skills then this is the obvious route to explore. The second company we will focus on goes by the name of Decal Girl and they offer a wide range of pre-made custom BlackBerry skins designed by a talented group of artists.

Using either of these companies you can add some much needed style to the default blandness of the stock BlackBerry, while at the same time keeping your warranty in tact and not causing any irreversible damage to your hardware.

What is a Custom BlackBerry Skin?

Custom BlackBerry skins are adhesive backed vinyl pieces which are cut into a template to fit your specific model of BlackBerry. These skins are specifically designed to be applied and removed from your BlackBerry at will. This means you can buy or design a custom skin for your BlackBerry, add it to your device and then when you get bored of it (or want to coordinate with a new outfit) you can peel it off and apply a new one. The custom skins will not leave any residue on your device and will not damage your casing in any way.

The skins available from both companies use the highest quality cast vinyl and guarantee against smudges, smearing and fading over time.

Let’s Meet the Players Shall We?

Let’s dig into Decal Girl first as they have the easier process for simply choosing a new skin, ordering it and then showing it off to your friends.

When you first navigate to the Decal Girl website you will immediately notice that BlackBerry skins are by no means the only product they offer. In fact, you can get a skin from Decal Girl for just about every piece of hardware you have ever owned. Ok, that may be an over statement, but with options for skinning your iPhone, Guitar Hero guitars, Wii, laptops, PSPs and more, it is more than likely they can handle your needs.

A quick scan of the home page shows direct contact information (always a good sign), a skinning FAQ, and an even more in depth “Skinning Demystified” article that all work towards educating you as a first time skin buyer. Additionally there is a handy wish list feature that allows you to save your favorite skins (or any other item) and compare them side by side. This is also handy when you want to come back and get a second or third skin but have a few specific ones in mind.

Ordering your custom skins from decal girl is a very easy process. First, in the left side menu look for and click on the BlackBerry Skins menu item. You will be presented with a choice of either Pearl skins, Curve skins or 8800 series skins. Click on the option that coincides with your device and start browsing the available designs.

Decal Girl’s talented stable of artists have created so many designs for your device that you will have no trouble finding one (or 30) to suit your tastes and individual style. As an added bonus, for each custom skin you purchase from Decal Girl you will receive a code to download a matching wallpaper that will make your devices new design appear seamless. VERY COOL!

To order your new BlackBerry skin simply add it to the on page shopping cart and proceed with the checkout. Payment can be handled via Visa, Mastercard, Discover, PayPal, Cashier’s Checks and Money Orders.

NOTE: Custom orders are available from Decal Girl but they prefer to handle larger orders due to their production style. If you are looking for a single, one off skin for your device you are better off going with Unique Skins.

Unique Skins is very similar in it’s offerings to Decal Girl in the sense that they too use the highest quality cast vinyl materials and guarantee against smudges and fading etc. The one major difference between the two is that Unique Skins is primarily set up for one of a kind, one off designs which are submitted by BlackBerry owners themselves.

Thats right, if you want a picture of your cat, or your son’s little league football team logo on your BlackBerry it is entirely possible. Ordering with Unique Skins is also a simple process. Just add your design to the cart after you have finished crafting your masterpiece and checkout.

Again, very much like Decal Girl, Unique Skins also offers custom skins for a wide variety of electronic devices aside from the BlackBerry including: gaming consoles, laptops, bluetooth headsets and more.

Designing a Custom Skin via the Unique Skin Website

So now that we know what Unique Skins does, it is time to take a look at how they do it. As far as BlackBerry devices are concerned, you have the ability to create a skin for 22 models, with multiple variations available for some.

Setting up an account
The first step you will want to do on the site is to click the Login button in the top navigation. You will have to supply a valid email address and click the sign in to secured area button. You will now be asked for your full name and to choose a password. Once you have signed up you will have access to the back end of the website which is where you can view your saved skin designs, see your order history and a few more actions such as favorites and saved addresses (for shipping purposes).

For now, lets click back to the home page and get to designing our first skin.

The Design Interface
I have chosen to design a custom skin for the Bold in this example, but I will be going back and creating one for all of the more recent models including the 8800, Pearl models, 8700s and Curves.

After navigating to the correct device page you need to click the Design Now button. You will see an interface load up and then be presented with a series of blue boxes explaining what each element on the page accomplishes.

The various elements are as follows:

1. Front/Back toggle: This allows you to switch between the design for the front and back of your device to ensure that they match well with each other.
   
   
2. Add Text, Photos and More: This row of icons at the top of the interface is where you will import your photos from your computer, add any text effects and control the layering attributes of each level of the design you create. You can use these buttons to move a design element below another element, or bring it closer to the top. You can also duplicate or delete selected design elements with the click of a button.
   
   
3. Browse the image library: Unique Skins has a great library of pre-defined design elements that you can use in your custom design. They are lined up along the right hand side of the interface and arranged in logical categories for easy selection.
   
   
4. Preview, Save, Add to Cart: These buttons do exactly what they say they do, with the save for later function keeping your current design saved and accessible from the account tab at the very top of the screen.

In the bottom left of the design interface you will see a small checkbox and “Show help bubbles”. Checking this box will bring up or remove the instructional help bubbles that are on the screen by default. If you can not remember what a tool does, checking this box will help remind you.

It’s Time to Get Creative

Ok so behind the scenes, I am going into Photoshop and creating some custom BBGeeks graphics to be used with the BBGeeks theme. Once I have finished them and I am happy with what I have I will then use the upload tool to get them into the Unique Skins design interface. If you also have some Photoshop skills you can definitely go ahead and get as fancy as you can with textures and colors. If you have never used a graphic editing software before then you are going to want to stick with the pre-defined design elements provided by Unique Skins.

NOTE: When uploading a photo of your own to be used as a skin for your BlackBerry, it is important to note that it should be saved or scanned at a resolution that is suitable for printing. This means anywhere from 150dpi to 300dpi. If you attempt to use graphics that are saved at a lower resolution you will end up with blocky, pixelated image data that will not look good once you get your final product.

The first step to importing your own graphic into the Unique Skins editor is to click on the button with a camera on it in the top row of the user interface. If you hover over this button it will read “Upload Your Photo”. When clicked, a dialog box will be opened and you will be prompted to navigate to the file you wish to upload which is saved on your computer.

Once you have chosen your image and agreed to the upload you will see your image on the screen overlayed on top of the device template. You will now have to use the resizing handles in each corner of your image to modify the size of your image so it sits where you want it in the template.

The handles with the diagonal arrows are used to adjust the scale or your image, the circular arrows are used to rotate your image to the left of right and the small red x in the middle – bottom of your image is used to delete the current layer in the event that you do not like the appearance and wish to go with another image.

You can import as many layers of imagery as you like into the design interface. Each new image imported will be placed on a layer above the last image imported. If you want to rearrange your layers simply click on the layer you want to adjust and then click on either the “Move Forward” or “Move Backward” button to position the layer accordingly.

You can use the “Preview Skin” button on the bottom of the design interface to see what your design looks like on a solid black background. When you think you have your design complete, go ahead and click this button to get a good look.

Using Unique Skins Pre-defined Content
We have just covered how to import your own graphics into the Unique Skins interface, but you can just as easily use the pre-defined imagery made available to you in the left side of the interface. There is a ton of content here for you to choose from including:

• Nature: 12 nature inspired design elements to help bring an organic feel to the industrial BlackBerry design.
  
  
• Animal Prints: 6 prints to drive your friends wild!
  
  
• Abstract: 8 abstract prints with soft colors and flowing lines.
  
  
• Sports: 9 sports related images provide a great backdrop for the BlackBerry owning sports enthusiast.
  
  
• Patterns: 18 killer patterns including hearts, skulls, traffic signs and more.
  
  
• Misc: 15 miscellaneous design elements here. The spider web is awesome.
  
  
• Flags: 13 national flags to help you sport some identity on your device.
  
  
• Solids: 16 solid colors that you can use as base elements for your soon to be masterpiece.

In order to add any of these pre-defined design elements to your custom skin all you have to do is click on the thumbnail in the selection pane on the right side of the user interface. The element associated with the thumbnail will load and be positioned in the center of the template.

To move it around just click on the element and drag it to the desired location.

Again, if you want to add more elements just click them and they will be layered on top of one another. You can bring each element to the top or move it down a level at any time by clicking the “Move Forward” or “Move Backwards” buttons. By using multiple instances of some of the pre-defined elements you can create some killer effects. Take a look at the custom skin I whipped up using 3 instances of the alligator(?) skin texture. Just take your time and you will come up with something incredible.

You also have the ability to add text elements to your new design by clicking on the button with the “T” icon on it. Once clicked you will see a dialog box appear which gives you options for setting the font color, font family, and font size. Other traditional font stylings are also available including: italics, bolding and underlining.

Once you have finished your design (perhaps saved it and come back a few times) it is time to add it to your cart and get that baby shipped. In the add to cart section you will first be asked for your shipping information and any promo codes or gift card/gift certificate numbers you may have. Enter in this information and click on the “Continue to Checkout” button at the bottom of the form.

On the next page you will be asked which type of payment method you prefer. When ordering your custom skins from Unique Skins you have the option of paying by credit card or through PayPal. Scroll the page down and agree to the Terms of Use and then click the “Complete Your Order” button to finalize the transaction.

You Are Now The Envy of Your Friends

There you go. A completely non destructive method of customizing your BlackBerry. Using the companies and methods in this article you can wow your friends or strangers passing by with your awesome new look, while at the same time keeping your manufacturer warranty in tact.

If you are interested in purchasing a custom skin designed by Decal Girl click here to head to their site for a ton of options.

If you are interested in creating your own custom BlackBery skin with Unique Skins click here to visit their site and get creative.

Stay tuned to BBGeeks in the near future as we will be having another great contest and giving away all of the custom BBGeeks skins I have created, a handful of Decal Girl skins and a few gift certificates from Unique Skins to boot.

Please feel free to comment on this post and if you opt to create some custom skins of your own through the Unique Skins interface we would love to see what you have come up with. Please leave them in the comments.

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