It's Nice That

Regulars / Review of the Year 2018

Photographer Tyler Mitchell talks us through a momentous year in his career

For many of us, photographs are a way of locating ourselves in a time and place. They act as temporal markers, reminding us of people and events who might have otherwise fallen into the ether of memory’s unreliability.

Josh Baines — 14 December 2018

Josh Baines — 14 December 2018

Work / Photography
Anna Sullivan creates a look back at the fascinating tradition of stilt walking shepherds

A little while ago, art director Anna Sullivan spotted an old vintage postcard featuring stilt walking shepherds. Stilt walking shepherds! Curious, as anyone in their right mind would be, Anna started digging into why these shepherds were atop stilts — which we now only associate with childhood games and circus performances — to herd sheep.

Lucy Bourton — 14 December 2018
Work / Animation
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared to debut at Sundance Film Festival

It’s Nice That favourites Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared created by the fun-filled directors Becky and Joe, will head to Sundance Film Festival next year. The Blinkink creative duo will premier their Youtube-hit series at the largest independent film festival in the US this January 2019.

Jyni Ong — 14 December 2018
Regulars / Nicer Tuesdays
Yuri Suzuki on how the key design tool is always communication

Joining us at Nicer Tuesdays November was Yuri Suzuki, shortly after the designer’s slightly surprising announcement that he was the newest Pentagram partner. Even Yuri notes how the decision for him to join the design partnership was a surprise to himself, recalling how when the initial conversation began his first question was “Why!?”

Its Nice That — 14 December 2018
Work / Graphic Design
Design studio Julia on a decade of turning complex ideas into graphic symbols

For the past ten years, graphic and spacial design studio Julia has been producing work for clients from the cultural and commercial sector, including everything from typefaces to books, magazines, exhibitions, posters, websites and identities. Having been formed in late 2008 by Valerio Di Lucente, Erwan Lhuissier and Hugo Timm, Valerio and Erwan (who have been running the studio since May of this year) are celebrating a decade of Julia. We caught up with the pair to find out a bit more about how their work has taken shape over this time.

Ruby Boddington — 14 December 2018
Work / Film
Director Angela Stephenson documents Manila’s defiance for creative freedom in the narco-state

Boiler Room is yet again shedding light on important social issues in a part of the world that is little known to us. The second film for its Contemporary Scenes series is To Live & Die in Manila and sees music orientated artists from the Filipino capital emotively express their frustrations under the bloodbaths incurred by the president of just over two years, Rodrigo Duterte.

Jyni Ong — 14 December 2018
Work / Illustration
Ram Han’s work continues to rekindle images of childhood nostalgia

Since we last spoke to the Seoul-based illustrator Ram Han last year, she has continued to bring her fantastical imagination to life through a new series of works titled Room. In her trademark style of metallic gloss, Ram’s latest illustrations explore the idea of personal space seen through bedrooms and personal objects.

Jyni Ong — 13 December 2018
Work / Photograhy
Yung Hua Chen’s photography is effortlessly glamorous

Yung Hua Chen’s photography is seductive and cinematic. The Taipei-based photographer captures alluring portraits for fashion designers and also, purely for the love of the medium. Recently, she’s been shooting her lover Chihtian Shih. She tells It’s Nice That, “he inspires me in many kinds of ways. He’s an actor and plays many different roles that give him different life experiences.” Chihtian’s brooding good looks are seen in all types of situations; dappled in a dusky sunlight, walking the streets of Taipei, peacefully sleeping still in his clothes.

Jyni Ong — 14 December 2018
Work / Graphic Design
Blok rethinks the design of cannabis after its legalisation in Canada

On 17 October, earlier this year, Canada became the second country in the world to legalise marijuana. Second, only to Uruguay, Canada is now the largest country in the world that legally sells the drug in a regulated system. Justin Trudeau’s government oversaw the turn in the law in an attempt to represent the changing stigma around marijuana, as well as prevent black market operations that persist in the rest of the world.

Jyni Ong — 12 December 2018
Regulars / Review of the Year 2018
Review of the Year 2018: Back to Back with Joey Yu and Olimpia Zagnoli

Two of our favourite illustrators talk about the things that really mattered to them this year – memes, animation, and more

It's Nice That — 13 December 2018

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Christmas Adverts 2018

adam&eveDDB teams up with International Committee of the Red Cross for arresting Christmas ad

The real John Lewis gets his own Christmas advert for Twitter

Waitrose is simply having a metatextual Christmastime

Sky Creative Agency talks us through its Patrick Stewart-assisted Christmas ad

Elton John’s old piano is the star of this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert

Sainsbury’s Christmas advert tugs at the heartstrings – and reminds us of something

Iceland’s Christmas advert banned from broadcast for being too political

Mother launch experiential Christmas campaign for Debenhams

We ask Duncan Cowles to create the ultimate Christmas ad, using only Adobe Stock and some expert advice

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