The countdown's back after a cheeky day off with numbers 60 to 51 just for YOU!

Some people say that your 50s are the best years of your life. Well, some people say a lot of things. With that in mind, here’s the next chapter in our end of year run-down. 51-60, ahoy!

Let’s be honest, if we had seen one more sickeningly friendly advert for some sort of digital product that included lots of bespectacled designers this year, we would have packed up and moved to the Arctic Circle. Fortunately, light relief came in the form of this spoof-ad for chewing gum, making out as if it were the new must-have gadget for creative types. Brill.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/wieden-plus-kennedy-mintacular

We were all surprised that no one had done this before, so props to Jullian for making this rather terrifying series of classroom photography. Hands up if they remind you of the time you said something weird in maths and everyone stared. puts hand up
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/julian-germain-classroom-portraits-2004-2012

If anything this year got us into the Olympic spirit it was these extraordinary collages by Jens Ullrich mixing the old Athenian Olympians with modern day athletes. Simple, beautiful, brilliant.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/jens-ullrich

Some unlikely brilliance here from Etienne Gros, the man who can transform common household foam into Renaissance beauties in minutes! if this doesn’t inspire you to go to the cupboard under the sink and start constructing some legitimate artwork, I don’t know what will.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/etienne-gros

And for those of you that thought working in an industrial rock quarry would be grim, Tito Mouraz came to smash your theories out of the park like golfballs off a precipice. Take that preconceptions!
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/tito-mouraz-open-space-office

“YouTube! YouTube! YouTube!” chant the square-eyed youth of today, as they parade down your streets, waving flags with viral-video maker Chris Lohr’s face on them and brandishing torches (Can’t be bothered to look? Don’t worry, they’ll upload it later). But this is why they celebrate him…
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/breaking-bad-remix

More modern-day delights here as we review the much-anticipated superbowl ads! Expect a textbook man vs. cheetah Hyundai advert, a suitably sultry Toyota advert, and a truly brilliant token flashmob attempt from Budweiser.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/superbowl-2012-adverts

Uuurgghhhh yeah, nothing like some camera-porn to get you going before Christmas, especially if you have asked for a Leica knowing full well that no one you know will be able to afford one for you. Best just to stick to this spine-tingler of a making-of video.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/the-making-of-the-leica-m9-p

Nothing like a little behind-the-scenes trailer to get you excited for one of the biggest films of the century! No surprises that this did well on the site — anecdotal insights, here we come!
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/the-dark-knight-rises

“Wait…this is for a bank?!” exclaim witnesses of Siggi’s creation for Icelandic moneykeepers Landsbankinn. A simple yet stark reminder that Siggi is an utter genius, and also that Iceland is much cooler than the UK.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/siggi-eggertsson-updates