Japanese railway security guard finds fame as designer of duct-tape signs - Taipei Times

HIDDEN PASSION:

For all his popularity, Shuetsu Sato — who sometimes gets so lost in his work he forgets to eat or sleep — has never charged a set fee

Reuters, TOKYO

One of Japan’s most in-demand graphic designers is neither hip nor an artist by training: He is a septuagenarian security guard who works the graveyard shift at a railway station in Tokyo.Shuetsu Sato found his hidden passion when in 2004 he was asked help travelers navigate the crowded, labyrinthine Shinjuku Station as it underwent renovations.His solution was to make signage out of duct tape, covering the station’s walls with directions to the myriad train lines, exits and more. He loved the work, the result was effective and the station master kept asking for more.

Shuetsu Sato, a security guard whose handmade duct-tape signs have gained widespread recognition, poses with signs he made at a security company office where he works in Tokyo on May 1.