This July we’re welcoming back a familiar design challenge partner and saying “hello” to a brand new one! The STEM inspired challenge with our friends at Princess Awesome will have you twirling with excitement, and our second coloring book challenge with the coloring app Lake, will have you working up an appetite. We can’t wait to see where your designs take you this month.
Medical Professions | Results Announced July 19
The doctor is in! This week we’re celebrating the medical professionals that are keeping us in tip-top shape. Will you find inspiration in the tools you might find in a doctor’s white lab coat or take a more holistic approach to your design? Whether you imagine your design on a pair of scrubs or waiting room wallpaper, we want to see your best repeats with a therapeutic touch. Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close July 10 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins July 12. See official rules.
Circles Are the New Triangles | Results Announced July 26
Classic is making a comeback in a new and bold way! While a circle might be defined as a simple closed shape, your entry for this week’s challenge should be anything but ordinary. Will you go with a nod to mod, spots on dots on spots, or take a geometric twist on this traditional shape? Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close July 17 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins July 19. See official rules.
Food Frenzy Coloring Book Design Challenge | Results Announced August 2
One of last year’s Lake Coloring Book Design Challenge entries, Garden Critters by susan_polston, is brought to life on the Lake app.
We hope you’ve worked up an appetite for the final challenge of the month! This week we’re welcoming back Lake, an interactive coloring app featuring a collection of vibrant coloring pages created by independent artists, for a second coloring book design challenge. Inspired by your favorite food, create a repeating design sure to curb your cravings. Whether your taste buds have you craving sweet or savory, remember to leave your bright colors behind because this challenge should only use black lines on a white background! Winning designs from this week’s challenge will be included in a special Spoonflower coloring pack on the Lake app. Find tips* for creating the perfect coloring book design and how the winning designs will be showcased on the Lake app here. Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close July 24 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins July 26. See official rules.
*Lake will work directly with the winners to make sure the scale of your design is suitable for the app.
Grand Prize
One Grand Prize Winner each week will receive $200 in Spoondollars. The winner will also receive additional exposure in our email newsletters, professional photography of their printed designs, and social media mentions.
Second Place
The 2nd place winner will receive $100 in Spoondollars.
Third Place
The 3rd place winner will receive $50 in Spoondollars.
The rest of the top 10
4th through 10th place winners will receive a $20 Spoondollar credit.
All of the top 25
Each of the top 25 entries, determined as set forth above, not receiving one of the foregoing prizes will be automatically proofed for sale in the Spoonflower Marketplace (approximately a $5 value) (the “Runner Up Prize”) if winners are verified sellers.
Grand Prize
One Grand Prize Winner will receive a 1-year Lake app subscription (valued at $59.99) and $200 in Spoonflower credit. The 1st place winner will also have their Food Frenzy Coloring Book design in the Spoonflower pack within the Lake coloring app. Winner will receive up to 15% commission from any colored designs made in the Lake app and purchased as fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap on Spoonflower.com. Winner will also receive additional exposure in our email newsletters, professional photography of their printed designs, and social media mentions, the extent of which shall be in Spoonflower and Lake’s sole discretion.
Second Place
The 2nd place winner will receive a 1-year Lake app subscription (valued at $59.99) and $100 in Spoonflower credit. The 2nd place winner will also have their Food Frenzy Coloring Book design in the Spoonflower pack within the Lake coloring app. Winner will receive up to 15% commission from any colored designs made in the Lake app and purchased as fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap on Spoonflower.com.
Third Place
The 3rd place winner will receive a 1-year Lake app subscription (valued at $59.99) and $50 in Spoonflower credit. The 3rd place winner will also have their Food Frenzy Coloring Book design in the Spoonflower pack within the Lake coloring app. Winner will receive up to 15% commission from any colored designs made in the Lake app and purchased as fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap on Spoonflower.com.
The rest of the top 10
4th through 10th place winners will receive a 1-month Lake app subscription (valued at $7.99) and $20 in Spoonflower credit. 4th through 8th place winners will also have their Food Frenzy Coloring Book design in the Spoonflower pack within the Lake coloring app. Winner will receive up to 15% commission from any colored designs made in the Lake app and purchased as fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap on Spoonflower.com.
All of the top 25
Each of the top 25 entries, determined as set forth above, not receiving one of the foregoing prizes will be automatically proofed for sale in the Spoonflower Marketplace (approximately a $5 value) (the “Runner Up Prize”) if winners are verified sellers.
This August we’re stopping for a quick bite to eat and then stepping back in time for our weekly design challenges. To sweeten our design challenge prizes, August will be the first month the top 50 (previously top 25) designs will automatically be made available for sale in the Marketplace! Don’t forget to verify your Spoonflower account so your designs are ready to go if you find yourself in the winner’s circle.
Tacos and Burritos | Results Announced August 9
Are you team taco, team burrito or team I’ll eat it all? This week we’re giving the designer community something to taco ‘bout with a challenge inspired by two iconic Mexican meals. As you’re designing a repeating pattern, think of the toppings you’d add to your taco, the fillings that would make your burrito burst at the seams or the location where you’d devour your dinner. Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close July 31 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins August 2. See official rules.
1920s | Results Announced August 16
The 1920s, also referred to as The Roaring ‘20s in the United States and the Golden Age Twenties in Europe, brought about the birth of the Jazz Age, iconic dance moves and the inspiration for this week’s design challenge. Will you channel the luxurious and modern style of Art Deco, the glitz of the movie industry or the underground mystery of prohibition when creating your repeating design? Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close August 7 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins August 9. See official rules.
1950s | Results Announced August 23
Jump into your tail-finned sedan and burn rubber back to the 1950s when sock hops, drive-ins and soda shops were all the rage. The ‘50s paved the way for an aesthetic of bright pastel color, abstract art, and let’s not forget, plastic wrapped furniture. During this week’s challenge, create a repeating pattern that embraces anything from beatniks to greasers to the ever important civil rights movement. Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close August 14 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins August 16. See official rules.
1960s | Results Announced August 30
The Sixties represented a decade of free spirit and this week’s challenge is the perfect opportunity to experiment with different design techniques. Don’t shy away from making bold pattern choices like big geometric shapes, a mid-century mod motif, a wild color palette or even take a psychedelic spin on your repeating design. Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close August 21 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins August 23. See official rules.
Victorian Era | Results Announced September 6
With a balance of orderliness and ornamentation, a home in the United Kingdom during the Victorian Era reflected a prim and proper lifestyle while also celebrating excess. The rise of wallpaper, including elaborate floral patterns in primary colors, paired with bold prints throughout an entire room, proved that “less is more” was not the motto during this period of time. We can’t wait to tip our top hat to this week’s winner. Please note: The use of existing designs in the public domain will not be accepted. Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21” x 18”. Submissions close August 28 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins August 30. See official rules.
Grand Prize
One Grand Prize Winner each week will receive $200 in Spoondollars. The winner will also receive additional exposure in our email newsletters, professional photography of their printed designs, and social media mentions.
Second Place
The 2nd place winner will receive $100 in Spoondollars.
Third Place
The 3rd place winner will receive $50 in Spoondollars.
The rest of the top 10
4th through 10th place winners will receive a $20 Spoondollar credit.
All of the top 50
Each of the top 50 entries, determined as set forth above, not receiving one of the foregoing prizes will be automatically proofed for sale in the Spoonflower Marketplace (approximately a $5 value) (the “Runner Up Prize”) if winners are verified sellers.
Below please find the rules for participating in our Design Challenge.
To Enter
- Log in to Spoonflower. If you don’t have an account, create one.
- Go to your design library. If you don’t yet have any designs, upload the design you wish to enter.
- On your design library page, pull down the Action menu underneath the design you wish to enter in the contest, then select the contest you wish to enter under Enter in Contest.
- Choose the layout option for your design, then click the button that reads “Enter Contest”. If you wish to change the size/dpi of your design, you can do so using the edit option on this page.
- Be sure to wait until your entry preview fully loads, with a message confirming your contest entry, before you leave the page.
- If you decide to enter a different design or make changes, you can withdraw a design by following the same steps, then entering a new design.
- You can only have one design active in the contest at a time. Once the entry period closes, we will ‘freeze’ the submitted designs. ****If you update your design after this point, you will break the image thumbnail and voters will not be able to see your design.
Themed Design Challenge Rules (updated 10/25/2016)
- Official rules may change depending on the contest, and will always be updated on this page as they become available.
Overview. The general idea behind our Design Challenge is that each week members of the Spoonflower community choose to submit designs and we put them up for voting to determine the Design Challenge. Designs can be entered by the designer via our entry process, but each month the winning fabric is selected by community voting. The winning fabric is then promoted through our weekly email, blog, etc. as a fabric for sale. In addition to earning up to 15% on any fabric sold, the winning designer receives a unique prize that will be determined by the design challenge partners and Spoonflower.
Voting. Each week we will take fabric designs submitted by their creators to the contest and open them to voting from the community. The design with the most votes is declared the winner unless stated otherwise. One vote per person is counted. Duplicate votes are removed automatically from the totals. The full results of voting are generally posted on the blog on the day the winner is announced.
Prize. Prizes will vary based on our contest. If you receive Spoondollar credit for winning, please note that this cannot be redeemed for cash. This has no effect on the commission you earn from sales of your winning fabric through our efforts to promote the contest.
If you enter your design, we may or may not offer it to the community for possible selection as the Design Challenge. The best motivation for submitting a design is the chance to share your work with an amazing community of your peers. Please note that all submitted designs must be original and comply with the Spoonflower Terms of Service.
As of July 7, 2011, we began making all ten of the top ten designs in each competition available for sale. By entering the contest, you agree that if your design is voted in the top 10 and is marked for sale that you agree to be bound by the terms of the Seller’s Agreement and become a verified seller. Designs must remain for sale for one week after the top ten designs are announced. Designers are free to change the for-sale status of their own designs at any time after that week. Please note that designs will remain visible in our past contest archive. Should you change the for-sale status of your design, please keep the design public to keep our archive complete.
Designers who sell designs via Spoonflower are required to supply tax information by filling out a W-8BEN or a W-9 form. Spoonflower will make all top ten designs for sale on the day that the contest standing is announced. If you have not completed your tax information at this time, we will automatically select the option to withhold 30% of the Spoondollars you make from sales for tax purposes.
You can complete your tax information at any point. Once tax information is supplied, we will no longer withhold your Spoondollars. Please find instructions for completing your tax information here.
Notes:
- All submitted designs must be your own (you cannot nominate other people’s designs or use designs based upon other people’s work)
- Designs must already be in your Spoonflower account. To have a Spoonflower account, you have to have registered on the site and uploaded a design. Doing so is free, by the way.
- Designs in the contests must be public (to edit which of your designs are public, visit the Designs page in your Spoonflower account.). Please submit no more than one design for each contest. Thanks!
While we do not require that a design submitted to the contest have been purchased first (by the designer), please consider that it’s a good idea to at least see for yourself what your design looks like on fabric before entering it in a public contest. Swatches are only $5!
More Q&A
What if I don’t want my design to be purchased by other people? We will never sell or offer for voting any design without explicit permission from its creator. Making your design public on Spoonflower does NOT mean that it will appear in a Design Challenge. In order to appear in the contest you must specifically submit a design using the process described above. Note that the top ten designs in each contest will be made available for sale.
Can I submit more than one design? Please submit no more than one design for each themed contest.
Am I giving up copyright of my design by entering it? You are not giving up ownership of your design, but by entering your design in the contest you give us the non-exclusive right to make it available for sale in the Spoonflower marketplace for no less than a week per the usual terms of the Spoonflower marketplace, which give you up to 15% commission on retail sales. You will always be credited for your design and you are free to continue to sell it on your own now and in the future. After a week, you are also free to remove your winning design from the marketplace.
Please always feel free to let us know what you think by emailing us.