Please see my previous post on the process of this project and my initial mock-ups.

Once I cleaned out all of the innards of the computer body, I wanted to take apart the screen in order to see what I might be able to do with it, as well as how it worked, so that I might bring it back to life. After many attempts and a little elbow grease, I was able to pry the screen away from the top casing of the computer.

There is a lot going on with the LCD screen! Using this tutorial, I began unscrewing the many screws holding together the screen. I realized quickly that attempting to open the LCD screen was much more difficult than the tutorial suggested and I probably did not have the know-how to make this dream a reality. I would have to try a new strategy.

I decided to go a much more realistic route with this project and repurpose the computer case to hold something different from its original purpose. The cleaned case was so sleek and beautiful, It would be a shame to waste its design. What is a different way I could put these pieces back together to serve a new purpose? I thought about the original use of a laptop computer:

• Portable
• Store your work
• Communicate with others
• Express yourself digitally

How could these uses still be made possible without electronic features? The idea of a portfolio case was born because it would be a product to hold documents and ideas and carry them around in an attractive, unusual way.

I began by lining the bottom casing with black velvet fabric to make it softer and gentler for users.

Then I re-attached the top casing components to create an attractive display for a sketch pad or other note pad.

I re-joined the top and bottom casings to create a beautiful portfolio case. The sketch-pad I purchased (9”x12”) was too big to fit, so I am on a search for a smaller one (I’m thinking 8.5”x11” will be perfect).