The Weekender: Brace yourselves my little piglets, here's The Weekender

There’s something in the water at It’s Nice That towers (it’s more of a bunker actually) at the moment. Everyone’s gyrating and that to a whole bunch of smooth tunes. There’s a party afoot and it seems like this is where it’s at. So let’s get a party going, let’s get a party going, now it’s time to party and we’ll party hard. Let’s get a party going, let’s get a party going, when it’s time to party we will always party hard. Anyway, probably time to head home before someone loses an eye.

6. Woodside wows us with perfect prints

People think they know what to expect with screen printing. Simple, crisp artwork rendered with sharp precision. But Amy Woodside’s experimental typographic prints show an exciting and frantic side to the medium. Nice!

5. Terrific tapestries from a far-out Finn

Kustaa Saksi’s complex new tapestries take the woven medium to a whole new psychedelic level.

4. Mugi Yamammoto produces perfect printing products

Pop this little beauty on top of a stack of paper and Bob’s your uncle. We love it!

3. (Stuff the alliteration) Great new site from Lundgren + Lindqvist

Now one of our favourite design studios has a website that does justice to their superb work. About time too.

2. Chewing gum will make you famous

If you’re Josh King. Otherwise it’ll probably just make your breath smell nice.

1. Fast food has never looked so good

We’re pretty sure John Feinstein was out to disgust us with his close-up scans of fast food but man, we could go for a bucket of checker right now.

Deep breath: a giant tome chocablock full of logos, a book cover so shiny you can ACTUALLY see yourself in it, a children’s book that we still want to read even though we are technically not children anymore, a pack for budding monorail pilots containging everythign they might ever need and a zine full of illustrations of the favourite cartoon characters of our best artists. Welcome! To Thongs (ahem) Things.

Ludovic Houplain: Logobook

In the online era, logos are generally only discussed when they change, at which point reams of vituperative commenters slam the new design, the reported costs, the ideas behind it etc etc etc. It’s nice then to engage with logo design in a calmer, more reflective way, which is where Ludovic Houplain’s Logobook comes in. He co-directed the 2009 Oscar wining animation Logorama and this hefty 775pp tome brings together 7,000 examples, organised alphabetically, which together make for a fascinating visual feast and socio-cultural snapshot.
www.taschen.com

Miniclick Publication #2

Miniclick are the people currently bringing free monthly talks and events to Brighton, and their recent decision to start create a printed publication has led them to this beauty. The cover is strangely reflective, the inside is well designed enough that you can read what’s going on eerily and quickly and the photographic inserts and interviews just about tip it over into one of our favourite arty publications of the moment. An all-round very good job.
www.miniclick.co.uk

Animated Review: AR ’Zine Issue #01

They asked a selection of artists, including Ian Stevenson, Nicolas Menard and Kid Acne, to reinterpret their favourite cartoon character in their own style, and then compile them all together in this super cool zine. My personal fags are Mark Edwards of Dr.Me’s “Sharky and George” and Bottle of Smoke’s “Heroinnie the Pooh”, which sees Winnie the pooh with a syringe hanging out of his arm vomiting all down himself with Piglet in their cracked. Inspired.
www.animatedreview.com

Anouk Ricard: Anna & Froga

Any package that comes through our door with the telltale Drawn & Quarterly packaging stamps always causes a stir here at It’s Nice That HQ and this arrival was no different. French illustrator Anouk Ricard has created a new volume of adventures for her Anna & Froga characters and while the aesthetic is charmingly bright and naive, the storylines have a delightfully snarky edge that juxtaposes perfectly with the whimsical visuals.
www.anoukricard.blogspot.co.uk

The Simonsound: Transit Authority Monorail Pilot Pack

Fancy yourself as a budding monorail pilot? (Yes! That’s right! That common career choice!) Well fortunately for you, dear reader, those nice chaps over at The Simonsound have put together a kit for you to ensure that everything will go smoothly on your journey. Between your stitch-on monorail pilot, a small box of magnetic tape, a photographic and illustrated instruction booklet, your ticket and a leaflet explaining your journey, you’ll have everything you need to help you along your way, wrapped up in your metallic pilot pack. Hallelujah! You don’t have to listen to those pesky career advisers anymore.
www.thesimonsound.com

Tweet of the Week

Can someone start a blog of the things people say and the faces they make as you pass each other on the way to the loo at work.

— Kelly Angood (@kellyangood) August 29, 2013

Guinea pig that looks like a baked potato of the week

Magic button that makes everything okay of the week

It’s good, not sure if it works though, I’m still incredibly depressed. Try for yourself.

Video of Ashton Kutcher being incredible of the week

Some people wouldn’t give two hoots about giving a speech at the MTV Teen Choice award. But Ashton does. Love you, Ashton.

Hilarious Simpsons compilation of the week

Ha! Imagine in the shit olden days when we had to just wait like chumps for our favourite Simpsons characters and their funny, cliched catchphrases to come on TV. Love you, internet.

Film made by drunk people of the week

“Star Drunk is an experiment in writing a short film while drunk; several writers from Portland got together one night to write the script. We promised each other that whatever we wrote that night, we’d produce as a short film.” I think the results speak for themselves.

1970s disco dancing video of the week

Don’t know about you, but when I’m drunk dancing on a Saturday, I genuinely think I look like this. Sad, right?

Unbelievable coincidence of the week

Man buys really old book off Amazon, only to discover his Gradfather’s signature inside. WOAH, WHAT?

Cool Croc of the week