Honest Review: DesignerCon 2024 in Las Vegas – Our Thoughts & Insights
A New Venue, New Challenges
DesignerCon 2024 is officially in the books, and Sunny Studio is proud to have been a part of this iconic event. As always, we are grateful to be involved in such an exciting gathering for artists, creators, and fans. However, as much as we enjoyed the experience, we believe it’s important to share our honest thoughts and feedback to help make the event even better in the future. After all, we all want DesignerCon to continue growing and improving year after year.
The Location: A Bold Move to Las Vegas
DesignerCon 2024 marked the first year the event moved from Anaheim, California to Las Vegas. While Las Vegas is known for its vibrant atmosphere, nightlife, and being a hub for major conventions, this shift did come with some challenges. The venue, The Expo at World Market Center was beautiful and conveniently located next to the Las Vegas North Premium Outlet, but one key downside was the lack of nearby hotels. This made commuting a hassle for both fans and vendors alike, adding an extra layer of cost and complexity for those attending. Besides the major brands, most of the artists and exhibitors at the event are small businesses or studios with limited marketing budgets, so the added expense of travel and logistics felt even more challenging.
The Layout: More Space, Less Crowd
The layout of the event was one of the most noticeable changes and the spacing between booths felt too large. It’s understandable that organizers may have anticipated a larger crowd, but when the actual attendance didn’t meet those expectations, the extra space made the event feel even emptier. Having booths spread so far apart only made the venue feel more vacant, especially when there weren’t enough people to fill the space.
The Stage: Great Content, But a Missed Opportunity
The stage was positioned in a corner, in a somewhat odd space. While the interviews and panels were solid, the lack of attendees meant that the seats remained mostly empty during the presentations. The space felt underutilized, and instead of engaging the crowd, it became a break area for many attendees. Adding live music or more engaging performances could have helped draw people in.
When looking at the event from a larger perspective, without big brands like PopMart and Medicon Toy with their exclusive DesignerCon items, the overall attendance seemed quite low. These major attractions helped fill the space and maintain the energy, but beyond them, the event had a noticeable drop in foot traffic.
Overall Thoughts and Final Takeaways
At the end of the day, we are truly grateful to have been a part of DesignerCon 2024. It’s always exciting to connect with artists and fans in the community. Our reflections are based on our own experience and feedback from the people we’ve spoken to throughout the event. We understand that events like these are constantly evolving, and what we’ve shared is simply our honest perspective.
We’re thrilled that the organizers have already announced the 20th DesignerCon will take place at the same location from November 14-16 2025. Here’s to another amazing year ahead—See You Next Year!