“DesignerCon, the annual art and design convention that smashes together collectible toys, customs, plush, designer apparel, and so much more with urgan, underground and pop art!”
Another super fun and inspiring year at DesignerCon in Anaheim, CA! Last year I tackled the NNS coverage live at con with Eric our editor and chief, and this year I went with Monica our photographer and video games expert. I will say, as a graphic designer, this is my most favorite convention and NNS lined me up with three amazing one-on-one interviews which you can check out below.
KATHIE OLIVAS OF CIRCUS POSTERUS
This year, DesignerCon did an amazing job with all of the Instagram ads and footage. Once again really showcasing what makes this convention so special. The amazing vinyl toys, handmade one of a kind sculpts, the unique handmade prints, and the incredible style from the artists throughout. This year had way more online advertising than I’ve seen from any of the other conventions we go to. Unfortunately, once again, DesignerCon was competing with CTN Animation Expo in Burbank, CA for the same weekend. Not sure why they are continuing to do this, there are for sure people who are interested in both **cough cough ME cough cough**.
Just a very short list of some of the incredible booths I saw this year and you can see more in the gallery link below:
So many more to mention but I will just say GO. Go to DesignerCon! Everyone is so creative, and so nice, and so inspiring. 3 days, 700 vendors, and over 300 artists.
One very special thing to the con this year, was the Mark Hamill exclusive Funko Pop’s PLUS a really amazing dedication art gallery to all the voices Mark Hamill has given life to. You can see more of this in our gallery link below.
Of course there is always room for improvement, and here are a few ways they can…
One thing I loved was being able to freely walk through the aisles. No one in my way, I could get to where I wanted easily, and had room to breathe. As some of us know from other cons such as Comic Con San Diego and LA Comic Con, if you are in the wrong spot at the wrong time, you are basically trapped in a horde of nerds going after a particular exclusive. At LA Comic Con this year, Eric and I nearly got trampled by a horde of run/walkers going after who knows what! After talking with a few of the booths, they saw things a bit differently about these wider aisles. They found that when the aisles are smaller, people are in a way forced to be more intimate with what each booth has to offer. And when people are gathered around a particular booth for whatever reason, more people want to see what’s up. So bigger aisles and more room was sort of a downside for the lesser known booths who have amazing stuff! Harder for people to stop and be intimate with what they have to offer because of so much room, they are off to the next thing so quickly.
Another thing I noticed, or didn’t notice, was the stage. Apparently they had a stage where they hosted panels, discussions, and demonstrations. But this stage was so far away tucked into the back corner of the convention. No one could hear it or see it unless they were looking for it, which is unfortunate because they had some great opportunities for people there! Lots of seats were empty when I finally found it. LA Comic Con has a great setup for this because the main stage is big and in the middle of everything with flashing lights and over the speaker they will say what’s next! Plus, you don’t have to leave the booths to catch what’s going on. It also brings so much excitement and traffic to an area. I think DCon can easily change things up next year to utilize the stage in a way to create more traffic and excitement. We will see!
So if you missed DCon or want to see more, check out our super awesome GALLERY! And as always, stay tuned and connected to NNS on all the main social networks to get the latest and greatest nerd stuff coming out. Catch you next time!
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