CustomUSB Creates One-Of-A-Kind Zombie USB for The Hit TV Show The Walking Dead

Case Study

The television show The Walking Dead has quickly become a cult classic, appealing to fans of all things gory, apocalyptic, and of course, zombie. The series is based on the comic books written by Robert Kirkman and follows the lead Rick Grimes as he and other survivors of the Zombie apocalypse attempt to stay alive in a world ravaged by the dead. To honor the show and to give fans a piece of unforgettable memorabilia CustomUSB has created an extremely detailed USB drive in the image of one of the most iconic zombies from the show, Bicycle Girl.

Project Objective

The goal of this project was to design a zombie USB Drive that was an accurate depiction of the first zombie encountered in The Walking Dead’s pilot episode, Bicycle Girl. The team wanted to create a retail product that would impress and excite fans of the television show, while maintaining the quality of the USB, ensuring it also works well as an everyday tech product.

How We Did It

This project was a testament to the creative capabilities that exist on the CustomUSB team. The licensing and design process was extensive, and the team was dead-icated to getting the visual of this USB just right.

Licensing

This product is a licensed AMC product and as such, it needed to go through a lengthy approval process. The network has high standards for its products, which is why the AMC Network and CustomUSB worked closely together to ensure the drive was accurate to the character. After AMC reached out regarding the creation of an iconic memorabilia piece, the CustomUSB team pitched several different zombies from the show. The teams considered different shots and characters before deciding the Bicycle Girl was not only a fan favorite but an overall excellent representation of the shows shocking zombies. After the concepts were finalized, the team began the process of design creation and approval.

Initial Design

When the decision was made to create a USB modeled after Bicycle Girl, the creative design team knew that if they did a great job it would become a WOW piece. After several rounds of brainstorming, the creative design team developed renderings in preparation for bringing the designs to life. Of course, there were some creative challenges, such as the model’s posture and consideration of practical use.

After 3 iterations, the team decided on the perfect pose with her hands reaching out to grab the user. After the initial sketches were drawn up, the team had an “aha moment”, and decided that to access the USB the user would have to pull out the guts of the Zombie. Not only did this decision make the USB more aesthetically pleasing since the piece does not look like a USB from the outside, but it also protects the USB from damage. After the final design was approved, the tooling process began and pre-production samples were given to AMC for final approval.

Finishing Touches

The CustomUSB team wanted this piece to achieve ‘classic status’, a piece that fans of the show would be able to show off. That’s why we made the decision that every USB will be hand-painted. That means that every USB sold is unique. The molds are made of durable injected PVC, and the base of every USB is spray painted the same color, but the fine details that make the zombie look truly horrifying are painted on by hand!

The final product comes with a clear collectors display box, the last finishing touch on this frighteningly great Walking Dead masterpiece.

Tech specs:

-Available in memory sizes: 16GB-64GB
-Micro UDP chip
-Nonrecycled high-quality memory
-Dust, water shock resistant
-mudp 2.0 read/write speeds: 10/3
-4 inches (10.16cm) long
-Ultra-thin USB

Materials:

Injected PVC with hand-painted detail. 

Final Product Description

CustomUSB proudly presents the first-ever USB Flash Drive for AMC’s The Walking Dead: “Bicycle Girl” – the first “Walker” Rick Grimes encounters after waking up from his coma in the premiere episode of the award-winning, critically acclaimed TV series.

Now, you can own one of the series’ most iconic walkers. Observe first-hand this detailed, hand-painted 4-inch replica in all its glory. No gory detail was spared in this meticulously hand-sculpted figurine. Pull out the guts to expose the ultra-thin, waterproof USB flash drive, packed with plenty of space to store your most valuable files.

Gallery

Results

The Walking Dead cult fan base now has a functional USB Drive where they can save their precious files in case of a zombie apocalypse! The best part is that this useful USB is also a visually stunning collector’s piece.

Customer feedback:

“A gruesomely edgy USB Drive that is the perfect desk piece for my Walking Dead fandom and a great conversation starter with the other Walking Dead fans at my office.”

“I love this piece, every time I use this USB people always ask me about it. It looks really impressive up close and is a neat display piece too.”