Weekender: The only way to start your weekend, with Things, staff picks, and some fun stuff too

Hark my liege! Word reaches us from our scouts in the western valley that The Weekender and its forces advances apace. No sire, there’s no time to send for the heralds we must flee this very night! You know what they say about The Weekender! It takes no prisoners. Now have your squire pack only what you need, we ride for safer ground immediately!

6. Luke Stephenson has such a way with the birds (ROFL)

One of our favourite photographers has pulled it out the bag again with a cracking owl photoshoot for Agi & Sam’s Topman collection.

5. Set me some wisdom

The guys behind Huck and Little White Lies are opening up eight years of magazine design insights in a proposed new book.

4. Go with her, she will show you the way

This utterly chambering Shishiya Mazaki animation is a rhythmic romp through a glorious animated world.

3. The periodic table is pretty much my favourite table

Artist Sam Winston proves his tremendous typographic talents once again with new work for the V&A based around our relationship with science.

2. Illustration makes everything better

Martin Nicolausson’s updates are full-to-bursting with colour, vibrancy and no little creative skill.

1. It’s fun to stay at the CMYK

This excellent tabletop printing set-up makes us use want to stop what we’re doing and go get all messy with ink.

Jarvis Cocker’s lovely face, a brand spanking new magazine, wiggly illustrations, some beautiful photography of Wales by the Welsh and funny orange and blue people are just a few of the Things we’ve got ready for you this week. What more could you want from us, eh? In the wise words of the Spice Girls: “I’ve given you everything, all that joy can bring, yes I swe-ar (yesss, I swear)” – sing it, Mel!

So It Goes #1

The very, very first issue of So It Goes magazine is a cracking example of what new magazines should aspire to with emerging actors Riz Ahmed (of The Reluctant Fundamentalist) and Felicity Jones (of Like Crazy) star alongside James Franco and a frankly stunning shoot set in Mumbai. What’s more, it feels fantastic. Heavy and inky and glossy and matte (and we know you crazy lot love paper quality as much as we do) so frankly, nothing should be holding you back.
www.soitgoescreative.com

Luis Alegre: No Audio

We love a brightly coloured cover over here at It’s Nice That, so it didn’t take long for Luis Alegre’s book No Audio to jump out of the pile of post on the doormat and into our eager hands. It’s ORANGE. Very orange. And blue, too – his witty, sweet, sometimes sad illustrations utilise the colour scheme perfectly. And when you’ve carefully turned every page and absorbed his illustrative talent, there’s a secret surprise hidden for you on the inside of the cover! (Hint: It’s a big scary orange skull.) (Oops. Sorry.)
www.luisalegre.tictail.com

Katy Wakefield’s illustration of Jarvis Cocker

Corrrr, see that charmer of a face? The long, luscious moustache and the nonchalantly sideswept hair? Cocker sure is a sight to behold, and we have none other to thank for that pleasure than Katy Wakefield. Her unassuming and strikingly good portrait illustration is not limited to Britpop hunks, either – over on her website you’ll find a whole host of lovely boys and girls to admire.
www.katywakefield.com

Luke Ramsey: Incompatibles

Luke Ramsey’s portfolio boasts an impressive volume of work, so it makes a lovely change to take a conveniently-sized booklet containing a perfectly scaled-down set of illustrated and printed monsters and strange, very large breasted creatures ready for your consumption.
www.lukeramseystudio.com

A Fine Beginning

A Fine Beginning takes its name from the first chapter of Dylan Thomas’ unfinished novel, and when you realise that the photographer who dreamt it up is Swansea-born London-based James O Jenkins, it all starts to make sense. Presenting projects by four Welsh photographers and with every word translated into Welsh for native speakers, the book brings together a sometimes touching, sometimes haunting, something charming but all round beautiful collection of images.
www.afinebeginning.com

Tweet of the Week

“Our kids will freak when they find out that before YouTube we used to post our funny videos to a man called Jeremy who’d show them on TV.”

In retrospect, that was a bit weird, wasn’t it? Thanks @AdamHess1

Most surreal, yet upsetting video of the week.

Big Bird sings an emotional tribute at Jim Henson’s funeral. Oh shucks. Pass the tissues.

Good-looking bad-boys of the week

So wrong, but so right. The Hot and Busted Tumblr shows the male babes behind bars. A tragic waste of cheekbones.

Dodgy UFO discovery of the week

We here at It’s Nice That are big believers in UFOs, so imagine our excitement when this guy was discovered! The ultimate effort prize.

The best “GET OUT THE WAY!” Photo of the week

Best impersonation of all the Radio 4 presenters of the week

Oh he’s good. He’s very good.

Cool lizard of the week

Ultimate scratching post of the week

Toodlies!