{"id":2768,"date":"2011-08-02T19:45:52","date_gmt":"2011-08-03T02:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/?p=2768"},"modified":"2015-12-18T10:58:06","modified_gmt":"2015-12-18T18:58:06","slug":"mini-review-custom-iphone-case-from-getuncommon-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/2011\/08\/02\/mini-review-custom-iphone-case-from-getuncommon-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Mini-Review: Custom iPhone case from @getuncommon #giveaway"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was scanning my Twitter timeline about a dozen days ago when one of the tweets from @<a title=\"@thechrislam\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/thechrislam\/status\/94037674217836544\">thechrislam<\/a>\u00a0(aka Ms. Social Media maven &amp; fellow-running gal) sported one of my favourite hashtags: #giveaway. \ud83d\ude00 Naturally, I responded as if my marathon PR depended on it \ud83d\ude1b and\u00a0was awarded with a lovely 40% off discount code for an <em><a title=\"Uncommon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.getuncommon.com\/\">Uncommon<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(custom) iPhone 3G case.<\/p>\n<p>Not being a stranger to custom iPhone cases (I made one for my mum last June, thanks to a free <em>Zazzle<\/em>\/Bay to Breakers offer), my initial instinct was to slap a photo of something cute or even a family photo, but then remembered that I use my iPhone for business and it would look rather unprofessional if the face of my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bearuu.com\/\">Bearuu<\/a> were staring back at my client.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, <em>Uncommon<\/em> had a nice collection of designs so I had a great set of professionally-created illustrations to select from. However, I wanted a truly uncommon\/custom case and I was intrigued by their &#8220;3D TATT&#8221; (Thermo-Active Transdermal Technology\u2122)\u00a0printing where they use this proprietary technique where they essentially embed the design <em>into<\/em> the case, so that it won&#8217;t fade, chip, or peel off the, er, case! Now, I&#8217;m NOT that great of a graphic designer but I wanted to see what the &#8220;3D \u00a0TATT&#8221; printing could do to something I create.<\/p>\n<p>Though I was rather busy working &#8211;I mean, I did this during lunch! *phew*&#8211;\u00a0I fired up <del>Illustrator<\/del>\u00a0Photoshop and came up with something that would look rather plain, yet upon closer examination would reveal something I&#8217;m passionate about; I call it, Blue and Black Out. LOL<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2782\" style=\"width: 280px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-and-black-out.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2782\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2782\" title=\"Blue &amp; Black Out\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-and-black-out-270x270.jpg\" alt=\"Blue and Black Out\" width=\"270\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-and-black-out-270x270.jpg 270w, https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-and-black-out-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-and-black-out.jpg 449w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2782\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue and Black Out<\/p><\/div>\n<p>With my &#8220;artwork&#8221; ready, <em>Uncommon<\/em>&#8216;s web interface for uploading and customizing your case was straightforward and rather easy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Select case to customize (in my, er, case, the iPhone 3G\/3Gs)<\/li>\n<li>Upload\/Select your artwork (they recommend a minimum of 2000 x 2000 pixels [but no more than 4000] at 300dpi)<\/li>\n<li>Resize\/Rotate or manipulate the placement of your artwork<\/li>\n<li>Add it to your cart!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After I plugged in my discount code and paid for the case (UPS shipping charge was about 10 bucks :(), the waiting game began. Because I uploaded something I created, <em>Uncommon<\/em> needed to approve this artwork first before my case went into production. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous during this stage mostly because the last time I used an element of an existing design, the company (*cough* <em>Zazzle\u00a0<\/em>*cough*) shot my case down (no pun there). In hindsight, I think it&#8217;s because <em>Zazzle, <\/em>by default, display your designs\u00a0publicly\u00a0whilst on <em>Uncommon, <\/em>your design is private until you set it otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, on the emailed order receipt, it was nice to see a comp\/proof of what my case would look like, and a mini-wallpaper (generated from my design) for my iPhone:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"2\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2794\" style=\"width: 157px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-black-out_proof.png\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2794\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2794\" title=\"Proof\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-black-out_proof-147x270.png\" alt=\"Proof\" width=\"147\" height=\"270\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2794\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Proof<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2795\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-black-out.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2795\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2795\" title=\"iPhone Wallpaper\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-black-out-180x270.jpg\" alt=\"iPhone Wallpaper\" width=\"180\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-black-out-180x270.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/blue-black-out.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2795\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">iPhone Wallpaper<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Fast-forward to only seven (or five business) days later, I was greeted by this in the post!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2796\" style=\"width: 172px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/000.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2796\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2796\" title=\"meum carum!\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/000-162x270.jpg\" alt=\"meum carum!\" width=\"162\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/000-162x270.jpg 162w, https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/000-360x600.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/000.jpg 432w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 162px) 100vw, 162px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2796\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">meum carum!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>First impression:\u00a0wOOt!<br \/>\nSecond impression: &lt;OCB&gt; Ahhh! Someone left their fingerprint on my case! &lt;\/OCB&gt;<br \/>\nThird impression: SHINY.<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, my photos don&#8217;t do it any justice:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"2\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2799\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/001.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2799\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-2799\" title=\"Ooooh.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/001-180x135.jpg\" alt=\"Ooooh.\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2799\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ooooh.<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2800\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/002.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2800\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-2800\" title=\"Aaaah. (and fingerprint!)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/002-180x135.jpg\" alt=\"Aaaah. (and fingerprint!)\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2800\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aaaah. (and fingerprint!)<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2801\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/003.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2801\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-2801\" title=\"Indeed.\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/003-180x135.jpg\" alt=\"Indeed.\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2801\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Indeed.<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2802\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/004.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2802\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-2802\" title=\"Hullo Stamford (the lion)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/004-180x135.jpg\" alt=\"Hullo Stamford (the lion)\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2802\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hullo Stamford (the lion)<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The case\u00a0was as I envisioned it, and more. I have to admit, with these &#8220;on-demand&#8221; product companies, I was half-expecting something that was just &#8220;ok&#8221; and I was particularly counting on them to get the blue and grey tones incorrect&#8230; I&#8217;m glad I was wrong to think that!<\/p>\n<p>Now, on that note &#8212; you <em>are<\/em> responsible for your own design, and I did notice a bit of\u00a0gradation of\u00a0colour\u00a0where the curve of the iPhone 3G case met with the bezel.<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"2\" align=\"center\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2805\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/005.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2805\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-2805\" title=\"Gradient\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/005-180x135.jpg\" alt=\"Gradient\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2805\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gradient<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<td>\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2806\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/006.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2806\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-2806\" title=\"Blue towards the black bezel\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/006-180x135.jpg\" alt=\"Blue towards the black bezel\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2806\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue towards the black bezel<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"2\">\n<p><div id=\"attachment_2807\" style=\"width: 190px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/007.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2807\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-2807\" title=\"Toggle and Volume control view\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/007-180x135.jpg\" alt=\"Toggle and Volume control view\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2807\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toggle and Volume control view<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>It&#8217;s an unfortunate, albeit not disastrous, outcome of my design. If I were to redo my case (which I won&#8217;t because I&#8217;m ultimately pleased with it), I would have made it so that the blue did not border the black \u00a0and should have just left it as a stripe. Just be aware of that, I suppose, if you were inclined to jump on creating your own case, too! The prices are somewhat on the steep side but considering that you&#8217;re getting something uniquely yours, I say it&#8217;s worth it&#8230; Keep reading below if you&#8217;re serious about designing your own case via Uncommon&#8217;s website!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thanks again to Ms. Chris Lam<\/strong> for the sweet coupon code and for the <a title=\"@thechrislam's blog\" href=\"http:\/\/www.whatiruninto.com\/2011\/07\/26\/gaveaway-uncommon-goods\/\">mention on her blog<\/a>! \ud83d\ude42 To pay it forward, <a title=\"Get Uncommon!\" href=\"http:\/\/www.getuncommon.com\/\">Uncommon<\/a> has provided me with four (4) <strong>20% off, discount codes<\/strong>! Surprise!<\/p>\n<p>No purchase necessary. Your first born NOT required. Void where prohibited and all that jazz. Just send me a <a title=\"@RaDragon\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/RaDragon\">tweet<\/a> or comment here (provide a valid email addy) and I&#8217;ll send it your way. But please, don&#8217;t ask for the code and then not use it cos someone out there might really need it \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2827\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/008.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2827\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2827\" title=\"uncommon\" src=\"http:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/008-360x216.jpg\" alt=\"uncommon\" width=\"360\" height=\"216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/008-360x216.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-content\/2011\/08\/008.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2827\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">uncommon<\/p><\/div>\n<p>*Edit: Uncommon makes cases for iPhone 4 and iPad, as well&#8230; In case you were wondering \ud83d\ude09 *<\/p>\n<p>Disclaimer:<br \/>\nI\u00a0received a 40% coupon from a giveaway with no expectation from the gifter for writing this review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was scanning my Twitter timeline about a dozen days ago when one of the tweets from @thechrislam\u00a0(aka Ms. Social Media maven &amp; fellow-running gal) sported one of my favourite hashtags: #giveaway. \ud83d\ude00 Naturally, I responded as if my marathon PR depended on it \ud83d\ude1b and\u00a0was awarded with a lovely 40% off discount code for  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/2011\/08\/02\/mini-review-custom-iphone-case-from-getuncommon-giveaway\/\"> read more <span class=\"meta-nav\">&raquo;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[207,3],"tags":[378,376,380,377,379],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2768"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2768"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5674,"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2768\/revisions\/5674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radragon.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}