The Filipino Fan Poster Challenge
Contest Ended — Submissions Closed

Make the sign
we carry for Alex.

Filipino artists and designers: create a bold fan poster cheering on Alex Eala. Selected work gets printed, carried at the US Open, and shared everywhere Filipino pride is showing up this tournament.

Independent fan initiative. No affiliation with or endorsement by Alex Eala, her representatives, the USTA, or the US Open is implied.

Submissions Closed See the Guidelines
LABAN,
ALEX! 🇵🇭

— every sign starts like this one, made by hand

Why this, why now

Alex Eala is having the kind of season that comes once in a career — a Wimbledon fourth round, a career-high ranking, and now her second US Open main draw. For Filipinos everywhere, watching her fight point by point on the world's biggest stages has become something we feel personally. This is our chance to make that pride visible: real, handmade fan art carried in the stands and shared everywhere Filipinos are cheering her on.

This is a fan initiative first. The LABAN Project is the presenting sponsor, not the hero.

At a glance

What you need to know

Who
Filipino & diaspora artists — NYC-area especially welcome
What
One original portrait poster, one approved cheer
Status
Contest ended — submissions closed
Recognition
$300 grand prize — 1 winner, printed & credited
Poster + postcard

Poster and postcard, one design

Selected posters will also become a limited postcard run (4×6 in.), handed out at the bridge activation and around Queens. Same artwork, two formats — so your design needs a small amount of built-in flexibility.

Reserve a clear margin — bottom-right or bottom-left corner, roughly 15% of the canvas — free of essential art or text. This space stays empty on your submitted design and on the final printed poster. On the postcard version only, our team adds a small QR code and one line of text linking to the song. You don't need to design this in — just leave the room for it.

LABAN QR code linking to the Hyperfollow smart link

Hear LABAN → @GaryManalusMusic
Postcard footer only — never appears on the printed poster.

Choose one approved headline

Four cheers. One sign. Your hand.

This is what the finished poster should feel like: immediate, loud, and made by a real person — not designed to look like an ad.

LABAN,
ALEX!
Signature cheer
FIGHT ON,
ALEX!
Universal & direct
RISE UP,
ALEX!
Bold & uplifting
GAME. SET.
LABAN. 🇵🇭
Playful — flag required

Have a different cheer in mind? We're open to one original headline if it's just as immediate and readable — email us before you build the full design so we can confirm it fits.

Visual language

Colors & flag

Old Royal
Flag Blue
Red
Yellow
Near-black
  • One dominant color per design — not all five at once.
  • If you show a complete flag, keep the proportions, sun, and three stars accurate. Don't stretch or squash it.
  • Heart-hands (🫶🏽) belong to the campaign lockup — not required as your own illustration.
Typography

Bold. Sports-forward. Legible.

Headline energyFIGHT ON
Handmade feelCome on, Alex!
  • Custom, bold lettering — not generic default fonts, not overdecorated script.
  • Must read in one glance: across a room, in a photo, on a phone screen.

Do

  • Cheer for Alex — clearly, loudly, sincerely.
  • Make Filipino pride visible, not a footnote.
  • Use illustration, lettering, collage — your own creative language.
  • Keep it readable in one glance.

Don't

  • Use US Open, USTA, Nike, or broadcaster logos or official-looking branding.
  • Imply endorsement, partnership, or affiliation with Alex or the tournament.
  • Use unlicensed photos, copied art, or a realistic likeness of Alex.
  • Add release dates, streaming logos, or large The LABAN Project branding.
Before you ask

FAQ

Straight answers, including the one everyone's thinking about.

No. This is a hand-made, human-designed fan movement — we want real craft and real Filipino design voices. AI-generated artwork will not be selected. Using AI tools for early brainstorming or reference is fine, but the final submitted design must be your own original work.

No — the printed poster and bridge signage stay completely clean, just your artwork and the cheer. A small QR code linking to the song is added only to the postcard version, in a corner you'll leave open per the guidelines. You won't need to design it yourself.

Yes, in parts of the music production process — that's public and disclosed elsewhere in this campaign. This contest is separate: it exists specifically to spotlight human Filipino design talent, and the judging reflects that.

No. Your artwork stays your artwork. We're not using submissions to train any model or generate derivative AI content.

That's fine — disclose it briefly in your submission note. What we're evaluating is your final craft and design decisions, not your entire process.

No. We want real, felt Filipino fan energy. Hand-lettering, illustration, and non-professional work are all welcome if they're original and readable.

Every entry is considered for a community showcase feature across The LABAN Project and community partner channels, credited to you, and included in a compiled collection sent directly to Alex Eala and her team — whether or not it's the grand prize winner. Submitting has value beyond winning.

Yes — $300 for the grand prize winner, on top of everything in "What artists get" below. And that's just the winner: every artist who submits gets real reach, whether or not they're picked.

How to enter

Submission mechanics

Exactly what you're submitting, what happens if you win, and what rights you're keeping — spelled out before you start.

Round 1 — submit one clear concept

  1. Create one portrait poster using one approved headline (see "Choose one approved headline" above). Multiple entries are welcome only if each is a genuinely different concept — not variations on the same one.
  2. Submit an 18×24 in. portrait PDF, or a high-resolution JPG/PNG preview, through the submission form. No file-naming convention required. Design at 18×24 — that's our primary target size, and it scales down cleanly if a smaller size (12×18 in.) ends up needed for venue comfort. Scaling a smaller file up doesn't work as well, so bigger is the safer starting point.
  3. Include your name, city, Instagram or portfolio link, a 1–2 sentence concept note, and any generative-AI or third-party asset disclosure — all collected directly in the form.
  4. Submit by Sunday, August 23, 2026, 8:00 PM ET. You'll get a receipt confirmation within 24 hours.

If you're the grand prize winner

Rights, credit & usage

You keep copyright to your work, always. By submitting, you're confirming the work is original and any included assets are cleared for this use.

The grand prize winner grants The LABAN Project a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to print, resize, crop, adapt, and distribute the work — free of charge, with credit wherever practical — across: printed posters, postcards for the activation, digital/social graphics, the collection sent to Alex's team, event signage, and future LABAN Day materials.

This does not include merchandise sale or unrelated commercial use, without a separate written agreement and compensation.

How it runs

The schedule

Aug 12
Challenge opens
Outreach to Filipino artists & designers begins
Aug 23
Entries due — 8:00 PM ET
Submit through the form above
Aug 24
Judging & notification
One grand prize winner selected
Aug 26
Final files due
One revision round, 24-hr turnaround
Aug 27–28
Print & release
Digital collection + e-book for Alex's team compiled
Aug 30 →
Out in the wild
Bridge activation, watch parties, and the whole tournament run
$300 grand prize — plus real reach

What artists get

One artist wins the big prize. Every artist who submits gets seen.

The grand prize winner

01

$300 — the grand prize.

02

Printed and carried at the US Open grounds and Queens community locations.

03

Full, prominent credit everywhere the poster appears — print and digital.

04

Your own printed copies to keep, plus a feature across The LABAN Project channels.

05

A permanent home in LABAN Day — this isn't a one-off. The winning design becomes part of the annual recurring campaign.

Every artist who submits

01

Sent directly to Alex Eala and her team as part of a compiled collection of every submission received.

02

Considered for a community showcase, credited to you, across The LABAN Project and community partner channels.

Make the sign. We'll carry it.

One concept. One approved cheer. Readable in a glance.

Submissions Closed
Contest ended — submissions closed