Beautiful and smart concept – via Buzzfeed.

All about the awards, from the IDI

Calling all Designers, across all disciplines. The Institute of Designers in Ireland have announced their call for entries for this year’s IDI Design Awards. Now in its 12th year the IDI Design Awards showcases the very best in design talent across all disciplines on the island of Ireland. The winners for each category will be announced at a prestigious ceremony in Dublin City Hall on Thursday the 28th of October. The closing date for entries is Friday 10th September at 4pm.

The IDI are encouraging all designers out there to enter their projects online at http://idi-design.ie/designawards/. As Ireland only internationally judge competition it is a huge opportunity to shine a spotlight on the creative talent and expertise we have in Ireland. Categories include Product, fashion and interior design as well as visual communications and New Media. Speaking about the awards Carol Coffey IDI Chairperson said

“We are determined to keep raising the profile of design excellence in Ireland and impress upon key players in the market the importance of good design for present and future sustainable indigenous business growth and development. The awards are your opportunity as a designer to showcase your talent to both a national and international audience via the IDI website and other media exposure surrounding the event. We would also encourage members to endeavour to spread the word about the Awards to all designers in their particular discipline so that they are measured against the very best design work available nationwide.”

Formed in 1972, the Institute is recognised at national, EU and international level as the representative body for the Irish design profession.

My involvement

I am on the council of the IDI as a new media representative, and find it a great organisation to be involved in. Before joining the council I’m happy to say I won a few awards in 2008.

Beautiful, haunting cover by Maxence Cyrin

Because this is the Internet, every argument was spun in a centrifuge instantly and reduced down into two wholly enraged, radically incompatible contingents, as opposed to the natural gradient which human beings actually occupy.

Tycho

Zombie Video Games

Left for Dead 2 (buy it!)

Awesome Zombie survival horror game. Really spooky gameplay and soundtrack. Brilliant fun in multiplayer co-op, especially when you see a special zombie. “BOOMER!!!”

See also: Plants Vs Zombies

Zombie Board Games

Zombies!!!! (buy it!)

Zombies!!!! is a fun board-game where you and your friends try and escape from a horde of zombies to a waiting chopper (or kill 25 zombies). The trick is that only one person can win, and on your turn you place some zombies. So there’s a real “will this guy fuck me over on his turn?” element to it, with lots of fragile alliances and back-stabbing. It really highlights (as reflected more seriously in the graphic novel below) how post-Z, it’s not just the undead you have to watch out for. The rules for Zombies!!! and some fun variants are available online if you want to check it out. It’s a fun game!

Zombie Graphic Novels

The Walking Dead (buy it!)

The Walking Dead is a series that chronicles a group of survivors on the run in a post zombie-holocaust world. It is seriously dark, and is more about the relationships and dangers that develop between people than about busting zombie heads. If you enjoyed The Road, this is perfect for you. If you have kids, it will scare the shit out of them. It’s being made into a six-part mini-series directed by Frank Darabont, in case you are a comic-book snob.

The making of The Walking Dead mini-series

The Walking Dead mini-series trailer

See also: Marvel Zombies

Zombie Meat Ups

There are regular charity zombie walks all over Ireland, here’s a link to the Dublin Zombie Walk. They look like awesome fun.

Zombie Lego

People make their own post-apocolyptic zombie scenarios in Lego. Awesome fun – have a search on Flickr or on The Brothers Brick for more.

Organise before they rise

I’m a sceptic. Gave up on mass a long time ago. Don’t believe in UFOs (unlike Danny Dyer) or ghosts or homeopathy or anything like that. But any time I read about zombies or watch a movie about the undead, a part of me goes – “you know what, it could happen. Just sayin’. (My inner voice watched too much American TV). So, just in case, I’d like to present my favourite Zombie-related stuff, purely in the case of “know your enemy”. Because if it does happen, we’re fucked.

Zombie Movies

Dawn of the Dead (buy it!)

Proper, slow-moving old school zombies that just keep coming and coming. And a commentary on a consumerist society. (It’s the whole movie-with-a-subtext thing. Like how vampire movies can be about Aids or sex or effeminate douches.)

See also: (Zombie Nazis! Zombie frickin’ Nazis!!) Dead Snow

Zombie Comedy (ZomCom)

Zombieland (buy it!)

Fucking awesome movie. It’s got a heart and the zombie kills are great fun. Do not confuse with Adventureland.

See also: Shaun Of The Dead

Zombie Books

World War Z – An Oral History of the Zombie War (buy it!)

World War Z presents a series of survivor’s tales from a fictional zombie war. We hear from soldiers, submariners, astronauts and ordinary people as they tells their stories of heroism and stupidity in the face of the greatest global conflict ever faced by mankind. Rumour has it Brad Pitt’s making the movie.

See also: Handling the Undead

Zombie Manuals

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead (buy it!)

From the author of World War Z (and Mel Brook’s son!) comes the complete guide to how to survive a zombie outbreak. It covers everything from what weapon to use against a zombie to where is best to build your post-apocolyptic fort to survive the aftermath.

via @threnn. Basically 100% awesome.

Another cult classic – tip of the hat to @johnoconnell for reminding me of this gem!

The full thing’s up on YouTube. Don’t tell Paul McGuinness though, he may call the cyberpolice.

Your Lucky Day from Dan on Vimeo.

Via @destraynor