Open / Close Clockwork Sign by Ikeda Yosuke

Ikeda Yosuke humorously describes his sign as ‘revolutionary’, both because of the cyclic way in which it changes, and of course also because it is such an innovative take on the standard flipping open and closed signs. He is primarily a mime performance artist with routines that often incorporate black and white signs that change meaning with a simple movement. For an example of some of Ikeda Yosuke’s performances check out ‘Hello Goodbye’ or ‘Digit’ on his website here.

Ikeda Yosuke Performing Mime Routine

It’s a remarkably simple device and the only complex bit of mechanics lies in the ‘en’ to ‘se’ transformation. It requires the e to remain upright, but for the s to rotate 90° to become an n. This was achieved with two weighted strips that dangle below the letters as shown in the second half of the video below.

Yosuke doesn’t seem to have any plans to produce these signs and its likely part of a future show. However he might well be onto something with this idea and shops and restaurants may be keen to use his design.

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