UNICON Poster Work Process
The process and finished product of a poster I created for a fictional convention called UNICON. This poster was also submitted as an artwork in my application for UT Austin. This fictional convention would be for fans of the VOCALOID called UNI, and something akin to Miku Fest (a convention/concert for Hastune Miku) or Anime Expo; there would be guest panels featuring VOCALOID producers and prominent creators in the community, an artist alley selling UNI or UNI-adjacent artworks, a karaoke lounge for fans to sing along to their favorite songs, and other exciting convention activities. The convention would be held on February 14th, UNI’s birthday.
First draft. The concept was UNI in a sea of con-goers who are all unique in their own way: some would be cosplaying, some would be dressed up, some would be dressed casually, etc. I thought that "UNICON" sounded like "unicorn," and the way the two words are pronounced in Korean are identical, so all the con-goers would be unicorns instead of humans. UNI herself would be wearing a unicorn horn as a costume herself for irony.
A polished version of the first. I wanted to simply see how this would look theoretically, so I drew some unicorns and duplicated them across the graphic. I knew there needed to be information on the convention, but I also felt that there was something missing for it to be eye-catching. I asked around, and received feedback to make UNI more eye-catching as it is a convention all about her.
I decided here to experiment with different poses for UNI in the forefront. I eventually realized I liked her breaking the fourth wall by interacting with the title of the poster. I also began departing from the unicorn concept and changed the typography for the title as it is not something UNI is actually associated with.
I settled on a dynamic pose that overlaps with the title and has UNI's full body. I decided on this after researching posters for Miku Fest and noticing that the posters featured Miku as a full-body illustration. I also opened up the bottom of the poster as I felt that the block of pink at the bottom was creating a very boring frame for the poster and did not feel professional. For the far-right draft I also added more contrast to UNI so she would pop more from the rest of the poster as she is the main character.
