Smashing out numbers 90-81 of our Review of the Year 2012 Top 100

Like all good annual countdowns our top 100 articles is relentless. Here it is, back again for a second day to hassle you like a well-meaning cold-caller. Unlike the cold-caller we promise not to drive you to slamming your phone down in a fury of expletives, in fact we promise not to upset you at all. Come on, take my hand, let’s go…

In the world of internet videos the viral is king, although nobody really seems to know what a viral is, or why they provoke an irrepressible urge to share them with your friends. In the case of Paraxtreme’s short of Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham however, it’s easy to understand why it did so well. There’s a man, in a wheelchair, shredding London’s South Bank.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/paraxtreme

This year we started a brand new feature called introducing…, in which we profile up and coming creatives in a little bit more depth. The talent we’ve uncovered so far has been incredible, but one guy in particular seems to have stolen the show. Osma Harvlahti is a young Finnish photographer taking the kind of photos that defy logic. Why do that girl’s socks look so good against that wall?
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/osma-harvilahti

Per Johanen’s Mæt is a pretty damn disgusting photographic series consisting of a variety of flesh-based products crammed into plastic water bottles. That said it’s also inexplicably enjoyable and has such an immediate appeal. We wouldn’t want to get our hands all meaty in the name of a good photo, but we’re really glad that Per did it on our behalf.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/per-johansen

In the midst of Wimbledon fever we received word that Kingston University’s third year students had teamed up with Hat-Trick to produce 12 official posters for The All England Club. The resulting images went down a storm in the studio (James Jessiman was kind enough to bring one of his in) and then went down a storm on the site too.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/wimbledon-official-posters-2012

I make no secret of my non-existent knowledge of football, but apparently players of all skill levels use tape on a regular basis. With that in mind, GBH created Gaffer a font for Puma that appears to be made entirely from the adhesive material. Regardless of your sporting knowledge it’s a seriously nice piece of design.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/puma-gaffer-font/

Speaking of nice pieces of design (seamless!) this collaboration between Nous Vous and Studio Weave saw an area of neglected Dartford countryside transformed into a gorgeous piece of community architecture. Featuring Weave’s trademark timbers and a beautiful custom pattern by Nous Vous’ William Edmonds it’s easily one of the best collaborations we’ve seen all year.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/nous-vous-studio-weave

These days you can’t round up your year without mentioning at least one Wieden + Kennedy-produced Old Spice ad. Last year it was the guy on a horse, this year it’s another guy with incredible abs yelling as you manipulate him with incomprehensible digital trickery. Next year…
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/wieden-plus-kennedy-old-spice-muscle-music

This little beauty of an ad features a whole bunch of guys with vegetables for genitals shaking their marrows every which way. It’s all in the name of veganism though so you don’t have to be offended. Hurrah!
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/fallon-peta-advert

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt in all our years of online publishing, it’s that the people of the internet (that’s YOU) love to look at pictures of pretty bikes. Don’t ask why, it’s just a fact. And here to prove it are some especially pretty pictures of some especially pretty bikes. Go on, have another look. We know you want to.
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/tokyobike-artist-collaboration

Likewise we also know that the inclusion of a cat in anything we post will increase its popularity by roughly 500 per cent. And what could benefit more from the inclusion of cats than priceless works of Renaissance art? Botticelli would have LOVED it!
www.itsnicethat.com/articles/famous-paintings-improved-by-cats