How come Terratag got to designs the Laughing Man logo?
Around 2001, I was designing for a Japanese game developer and music label, Frognation, and sent the guys in the Tokyo office a pile of stickers, which were liberally plastered around. One of the guys at Frognation also happened to be a script editor at Production I.G. who was working on early drafts for the first TV series of Stand Alone Complex. One day the director, Kenji Kamiyama, saw the stickers, loved them and one thing led to another.So, what’s the big idea?
The brief supplied was particularly interesting in that it asked me to read a short story by J D Salinger 'The Laughing Man' and get inspired. I read the story which centres around a minor league baseball team, so I picked up on the idea of using a baseball cap. The text was given to me by Production I.G. and reads: "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes". It's an excerpt from The Catcher in the Rye, also J D Salinger. In the book the text continues to read: "That way I wouldn't have to have any goddamn stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something they'd have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They'd get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I'd be through with having conversations for the rest of my life". At first this text made no sense but later, having seen the series, I can understand the relevance to the character.
What was Production I.G's thoughts on your work?
In May 2003 I travelled to Tokyo to meet Kenji, the production staff and animators at the Production I.G. studios. Through an interpreter I was very pleased to be told that they loved the logo and felt the submissions from Japanese designers had not quite come up to scratch. At the meeting I was shown how the logo was used throughout the series and on a whole load of promotional merchandise, which was cool by me. I was also given a brief to design another logo for the Individual 11 - a terrorist organisation that are central to the second series.
What is it like seeing your artwork in an anime series?
I have seen all the episodes and rate the series second to none and cannot put into words what a privilege it is to be involved in the project. In episode 9 I am even mentioned by name, something they had not told me they were going to do. So, whilst watching the episode I was caught by complete surprise and replayed the scene just to double check I had heard correctly. I was really pleased to see how the logo was used throughout the series. For instance, when Aramaki doodles it or how, in the scene with fans of Laughing Man, people had appropriated the logo in much the same way as they would a favourite band or football team.