Get back into the swing of it with our weekly round-up, the Weekender!

Given that it’s the first week back at work after a long fortnight spent cramming mince pies and Baileys into our faces while flicking between The Wizard of Oz and Call the Midwife, you’d think the creative world might be slow getting back into the swing of things. Oh no. This week we’ve seen the cartooning world torn apart only to rise up even stronger, a mad new interactive website launched by Panda Bear, some seriously impressive new identity work from the likes of Pentagram, and books, films and adverts spewed out all over the shop. Here’s our pick of the best of the week.

– Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear launched a gloriously psychedelic interactive website which allows you to flick through a series of crazy visuals to a mad musical accompaniment. Seeing is believing.

– Apartamento co-founder Omar Sosa took the It’s Nice That cool test (read: Bookshelf feature) and passed with flying colours. His top five favourite books includes Jean-Paul Goude’s Jungle Fever, if you don’t believe us. What a guy.

– Pentagram’s new graphic identity for the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York involved a 3D typeface that literally does stand out – on fences, staircases and signage – proving they still reign supreme.

– And in the week that Paris was rocked by a terrifying attack on the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, illustrators and comics artists around the world proved that nothing will stand in the way of freedom of speech. Here’s a collection of their powerful responses.

– It takes a lot of will and a seriously steady hand to balance 2,015 ping pong balls on 1,650 mousetraps, and then to film the whole thing to glorious effect. We spoke to Doug Stewart from HarrimanSteel about how they made it happen.

– This week saw the annual instalment of the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, a strange round-up of fancy gadgetry and techy insights. We saw it as the perfect excuse to ask some of our favourite creatives what their dream gadget would be.

– Remember that seven minute film about New York City subway dancers, released last May? This week the film’s director, Scott Carthy, responded to the criminalisation of the practice by dropping an 18-minute long version called Litefeet, and it went crazy. We spoke to Scott about how the project came about, and his experience filming it.

– When Channel 4 brought Why Not Associates on board to create the promo for the 2014 Turner Prize awards, they knew they needed to pull something special out of the bag. “The structure and pace of it [might be influenced by] the mental time scales we worked to,” moving image director Clayton Welham told us. “Strange things happen when you work into the dead of night.”

– Demystifying skinhead culture is no easy task, but Ditto Press have done a mighty good job of it with their new publication Skinhead: An Archive. This gorgeous book is heavy with archive material, some of which was very influential in shaping the design, as we found out when we spoke to art direct Jamie Reid. You can have a read here.

– The epitome of defiance following the attacks this week, French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo confirmed that their next issue, named The Survivor’s Issue, will come out on Wednesday as planned.

“Because the pen will always rise above barbarism.
Because freedom is a human right.
Because you support us.
We, Charlie will release your paper next Wednesday, 14 January.” – Charlie Hebdo

– Fashion brands a’plenty announced exciting new allegiances this week, from Calvin Klein confirming that Justin Bieber would star in their SS15 campaign alongside Lara Stone shot by Mert Alas and Marc Piggot, to Saint Laurent nabbing Joni Mitchell, shot by Hedi Slimane. Céline won our hearts, though, casting the inimitable writer Joan Didion at the grand age of 80.

– Sia released her new video for Elastic Heart, directed by the musician herself and Daniel Askill, and it features incredible dancer Maddie Ziegler alongside none other than Shia LaBeouf.

– London Collections:Men is storming London again! GQ are posting show coverage as it happens, which you can catch up on over here.

– The 2015 BAFTA nominations were announced this week, with Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater and Tim Bevan all in the running to win best film.

James Cartwright

When I was 18 I went down to Falmouth in Cornwall for a year to study art foundation. I spent most of my time eating Supernoodles, playing endless hours of Tekken and generally stewing in my own filth. Some of the people who joined me in this mindless enterprise are now successful fine artists, including this guy, Robin Von Einsidel, who’s got a show coming up in a Romanian gallery and everything. It soothes me to know that something worthwhile came from that year by the sea – aside from an encyclopaedic knowledge of daytime TV. Anyway, if you’re in Romania go check out Robin’s work. It’s awesome. Loads better than it was eight years ago!

Billie Muraben

Today someone brought a poodle into the studio. As well as providing distraction, fluff and general pure joy, said poodle reminded me of THIS. Cooking With Dog is a cooking show hosted by Francis, and his friend “Chef.” Francis provides informative narration while Chef cooks up a variety of popular Japanese dishes. The Delia of the YouTube generation.

Liv Siddall

News has just broken that Joni Mitchell has been interviewed for the latest issue of V Magazine and was photographed by Hedi Slimane – Whatttt! Apparently she’s going to be the new face of Saint Laurent, and has finally agreed to be interviewed for the first time in YEARS. Joni Mitchell has got to be one of the coolest women on the planet – still with angelic long hair and puffing on a fag at 71, she is photographed by Hedi strumming on a guitar and wearing an enviable black hat. Apparently before the interview began she said to the journalist curtly: “You aren’t going to say that I’m like the female Bob Dylan—or worse—a singer-songwriter, are you?” Brilliant. I love you Joni.

Emily Gosling

This incredible piece of video art/music video for Psychic TV’s Wicked is by no means a new video, but it’s one I always come back to if my brain needs a bit of shaking up, or to look cool and interesting at the tail end of a party where everyone just sits about looking at YouTube videos. I was reminded of it by the aesthetic of Why Not Associates’ Turner Prize awards ceremony promo for all its glorious and bonkers and terrifying flashing images. I adore it, but I can’t help think that it has somehow brainwashed me into doing so.

Maisie Skidmore

Like trying to comprehend the number of grains of sand on the earth or the size of the universe (not just our one, but like, the whole thing) optical illusions continue to blow my mind. Callum Green, an art director at our sister agency INT Works, sent this around earlier – Scroll Slow Have Fun. Do as you’re told, and widen your eyes accordingly.