Terratag’s Laughing Man speaks out

In lieu of the news that UK designer Paul Nicholson (of Terratag) was the creative force behind the infamous ‘Laughing Man’ logo seen throughout the ‘Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex’ anime TV series, Otaku News have published an interesting interview with the famed designer.

• About 4 years ago I was doing some design work for a Japan based game developer and record label, Frognation. I sent over a pile of Prototype 21 stickers, one of the guys plastering his lap top. That guy also happened to be a script editor at Production I.G. Whilst working on early drafts for the first TV series the director, Kenji Kamiyama saw the laptop, liked the sticker designs and, as they say, the rest is history.

This interview not only reveals his personal experiences with Production I.G (the anime studio behind Stand Alone Complex) but also goes on to discuss the philosophical concepts behind the “Laughing Man’ as well as giving the reader an insight into how Paul felt when he saw his creation appear in Stand Alone Complex for the very first time.