How to pimp your laptop

Laptops were never the most exciting addition, style-wise, to one's office or bedroom. Bite-sized computers came in three colours – grey, slightly grey, or black. But all that is changing, thanks to a new breed of customised laptops – including those manufactured by computing behemoth Dell – and a legion of artists collaborating with those eager to cash in on customers' desires for technology that stands out from the crowd.

While digital technology becoming more and more pervasive, the barriers between the hi-tech end of things and fashion and design are breaking down, according to Joe Svetlik, news editor of the technology magazine T3.

"Sky has been selling designer digi-boxes for the past year or so," says Svetlik, "and that is mirrored in what we see in iPod and mobile phone customisation markets. I guess the supply is being driven by demand. People are after something more and more unusual.

"The reasoning goes, if everyone has got one, how are you going to stand out? If yours has got cool colours it will mark you out. This becomes a great marketing tool and it serves specialist magazines a lot better. We are more likely to give it more coverage than a bog-standard laptop because it is much more interesting."

The trend is spearheaded by a breed of online enthusiasts such as the New Jersey-based artist Richard Nagy. Nagy is part of a movement known as "steampunk", in which the casing of modern technology is reimagined using the slightly rickety nous and visual aesthetic of the Victorian era. The American artist has made over a standard Hewlett Packard laptop by crafting a new casing for it.

"I am a technophile, but I like imbue technology with a bit more class and elegance and sense of permanence," Nagy explains. "The Victorian era was about the last time in history when your average high-school graduate had a full mastery of the technology available. Your average guy could build some grand contraption."

The laptops customised by Nagy sell for hundreds of pounds and boast many unique features. These include wrist rests made of leather secured with hand-filed copper rivets, hand-cut copper keys, "claw feet" borrowed from an antique clock, and functional speakers shaped like the f-shaped holes found on violins. The results are displayed on Nagy's website, which he compiles under the alias "Datamancer".

Now, laptop specialists tout their wares in a variety of weird and wonderful ways all over the internet. The US-based website Computer Choppers (www.computer-choppers.com) can turn your previously boring laptops into "bling" lifestyle statements. Why not purchase a 24-carat gold-plated MacBook Pro for £700 (pictured above, although this does not include the price of a gold keyboard and track-pad)? The company will deliver the computer after two to four weeks, even if you splash out on a diamond-studded logo to replace the conventional glowing Apple logo.

And check out the imaginatively named Bling My Thing (www.bling-my-thing.com), to which shoppers can send their laptops for them to be glammed up with Swarovski crystals. The company claims the idea of transforming consumer items into pieces of jewellery originates from Japan, and is called "decoration-denwa".

It is particularly popular among young girls and women who take the opportunity to personalise their possessions, especially with crystal mosaics. Berlin-based Bling My Thing says it has adapted the idea and brought it to the European market. Similar services are offered at Selfridges in London.

One can also partake in a spot of laser-etching. Those in search of the most outlandish accessories can send in their computers to specialist etchers such as www.adafruit.com/laser and have artwork of their choosing etched into the gadget's surface, for the hefty price of £75 an inch.

"It feels like a tattoo, and now I feel like I need to get more," says Kevin Rose, one of the website's fans.

A more subtle option might be to opt for a GelaSkin (www.firebox.com), which are removable vinyl skins, in the style of mobile-phone covers, for protecting and customising your laptop. They are also available for iPods and gaming consoles, such as the Nintendo DS Lite.

The skins do not disappoint, and those buying them can choose between HR Giger "Alien" graphics, say, for their MacBook Pro, or even pictures of large speakers that can convert their trusty laptop into a 1980s-style "boom box". GelaSkin designs come from a "growing family of artists from around the globe".

Now, always unwilling to pass up a marketing opportunity, computer companies are getting in on the act. Earlier this year, Dell (www.dell.com) launched a series of "special edition" Inspiron 1525 laptops, daubed with exclusive graphics by Brooklyn-based artist Mike Ming. The laptop designs are based on themes of "waves and movement".

Ming claims he got his inspiration from surfing in Los Angeles and New York. "The waves and the movement all feeds back into my drawing," he says. "I try to get as much inspiration as I can from New York. I go to art openings or see my friends. Also, I wanted to create a sense of energy, playfulness, sophistication and psychedelic momentum when I started this," he continues. "It gives computer aficionados their own display of style.

"Somewhere down the line I hope people will say, 'I want to be an artist'. That's the most we can do as humans – inspire."