Duct-Tape Typographer Shuetsu Sato Honored With Design Award

35 days ago • 8 views • Spoon & Tamago • spoon-tamago.com

japanese art, design and culture

Shuetsu Sato began working as a security guard at Shinjuku Station in 2002. With constant construction and infrastructure upgrades, it was Sato’s job to redirect crowds using a megaphone. However, he found it to be an ineffective tool that was ignored by most. So with a few rolls of duct tape and a craft knife he took it upon himself to create some eye-catching signage.

Over the years, a cultish appreciation has grown for Shuetsu Sato’s work with fans dubbing his clean-line, rounded edge typography as Shuetsu-tai (Shuetsu font).

This year, after over 20 years of service to the ever-evolving Tokyo train system, The Japan Sign Design Association (SDA) has honored Sato with a Platinum Honorable Mention Award for his “creation of pathways”.

Congratulations Sato-san!

Graphic Design

typography

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