Top Design Challenge Tips from Spoonflower Artists 

Design Challenges are an excellent way for Spoonflower artists to build their portfolio through trending design prompts, get discovered in the Spoonflower Marketplace and get to know other artists in the Spoonflower community. 

Jackie Tahara, Katarzyna (Kasia) Turbak and Anna Aho share both their top tips for participating in Design Challenges and how these challenges helped them grow.  

Jackie: Try to enter as many challenges as possible, and not just the ones that “speak” to you. Rather, use the challenges to try new themes outside your comfort zone and to expand your design portfolio. You never know what will come of it unless you try! 

Katarzyna: Take part in challenges that are uncomfortable for you as well as those that fit your style. It’s the challenges outside your comfort zone that stimulate creativity the most and develop your work. A topic unfamiliar to you is a chance for a distinctive idea and an out-of-the-box approach and from that, it’s a straight road to a high place in the challenge. If it doesn’t go well for you, you’re still a winner because you have new skills, and that’s priceless. 

Katarzyna: The brief posted with each challenge includes information about the theme and tips on what format to choose for your design so that it will be clearly visible in the challenge. Often the themes are not obvious or include a common name used in the United States. For example, ditsy or dad jokes. If you don’t understand something, Google it! Google is a simple and helpful tool that’s easy to forget.    

Katarzyna: The first idea, even if it fits the brief, may be obvious and many people will use it too. In a challenge you need to stand out, so you don’t get lost in a crowd of similar designs. Look for inspiration in your surroundings, talk to relatives, browse the theme on Pinterest and Google it—again. Ideas also sometimes change while drawing.

Be open to this change, because sometimes it is worthwhile to devote time to an additional design, which could be a hit. Creativity is a wonderful resource that gives you more the more you use it. 

Anna: While the challenge briefs have us creating seamless repeats for wallpaper or fabric, the reality is that our designs are being evaluated based on how well they stand out in a sea of digital thumbnails. It is worthwhile to consider the visual impact of your design in the format in which it is being viewed.

If it is being viewed as a fat quarter (21″ x 18″), which translates into a small rectangular thumbnail, often only an inch or two in size on a computer or phone screen, you might consider adjusting the scale and placement of your dominant motifs in order to make for a pleasing overall composition within those constraints.

Test your design by uploading several versions onto the Spoonflower site during your process. How does it look? You often only have seconds to catch someone’s eye when they are scrolling through challenge entries. Go with the version that feels the most balanced and visually appealing.  

Anna: It’s important to remember that the value of your work isn’t derived from the challenge results. For some challenges, the feedback on an entry can be disappointing. It is hard after all, not to feel emotionally attached to something you have poured your heart and effort into.

Art is subjective. Some of my favorite designs, both those made by myself and by others, have placed poorly in certain challenges. There are also times when the winning designs don’t reflect my own personal taste, but it is undeniable that the artists who place well routinely show a certain amount of mastery and skill over their craft.

Learn from the results! Are the winning designs simple or complex? Are there layers of texture? Is there a sense of harmony and balance? Now turn your eyes back to your own work. Be thoughtful about the ways you can improve your own technique.

Remember the goal is to amplify your own unique voice and not to mimic someone else’s. With everything I design, I find it helpful to ask myself: Would I buy it? Would I wear it? Would I hang it on my walls? Having the answer be yes to these questions anchors your work in your own personal style and results in a Spoonflower shop full of unified designs that feel like you!  

Katarzyna: People notice more easily anything they’ve encountered before. Use social media and Facebook groups to make your pattern recognizable just before the challenge. This gives your pattern a chance to get more votes.

When sharing, provide value to your audience, like, for example, design tip, a sewing tip or a marketing tip. You can give a free phone wallpaper with your pattern or show an interesting example of how to use your design in home decor or clothing. 

Jackie: Post about your challenge entries on social media, blog posts, and in membership and Facebook groups. Link out directly to the voting page from your posts or “link in bio”. For example, I use Linktree to link out to multiple places, including the voting page and my Spoonflower shop, directly from my Instagram bio.  

Anna: I believe that the often-overlooked value of Design Challenges is in the connections you can build with other artists. Did you know there are no limits on the number of votes you can cast? Or that you can both “favorite” and “vote” for the same design?  In my first Design Challenge I voted only for myself. It didn’t take long for me to realize that by arbitrarily limiting my votes and my favorites, I was missing out on an opportunity.

Be authentic and generous in your interactions with other artists. You’ll find you receive the same in return. While a vote is private, a “favorite” is public feedback that is visible to the artist and consumers. Like other online platforms, engagement is key in building community and increasing the visibility of your work within the massive world of Spoonflower.

Jackie: Never get discouraged if your design doesn’t rank highly in a particular challenge. Remember that there is a new challenge every other week so just move on to the next theme! 

This tip is from us at Spoonflower. In addition to reading the brief carefully, make sure you are following the rules outlined in the Design Challenge Full Terms and Conditions, which are linked from each Design Challenge page.

In the spirit of our Design Challenges, it is important that you submit artwork that is uniquely yours, without the use of public domain or clip art, copyrighted material or art generated using AI (Artificial Intelligence). Learn more in our previous post “Stick to the Rules: Your Guide to Spoonflower Design Challenges.”