Are Spoonflower Design Challenges Worth it?

Without beating around the bush...YES!! The design challenges are definitely worth it. Even if it can be humbling to see a design you thought would do really well...well flop. There is still so much to gain from joining in the challenges.

At the end of this post you will see a table showing all my design entries in order from best to worst performing over the past three years. I have used the placing and total entries for the challenge to give each design a rank. The higher the rank the better the design faired. Similar to a percentage or percentile if a design's rank is 60 it means it scored higher than 60% of all designs.

For any fellow math lovers who want the calculations, the top design Serene Soft Green Cream Waves placed 27th out of 1298. So the calculation I used was 100-(27/1298*100) = 97.92.

Now moving right along!

Why Design Challenges are worth it?

For me it falls loosely into three broad categories. Engagement, motivation and feedback. Not to mention the obvious enjoyment of designing. But if there is a challenge that really doesn't appeal, go right ahead a skip it!

Engagement

As designers we are trying to make a design or product that we love. While hoping that if we love it, others will too and choose to spend their hard earned money on purchasing the design or item. By joining in with the design challenges we get to vote, see and comment on other designers work. Making vital connections and seeing endless inspiration to keep our designs coming.

Motivation

I don't know about you but some days or even weeks I can't find the motivation to get creative. Often it is life getting busy or any number of reasons. In times like these I find having a prompt and a deadline to work too hold me accountable to get it done. But as you can see in the table below I have missed my fair share of design challenges, so it doesn't always work. But I have found that keeping current and adding new designs regularly does seem to keep the sales trickling in.

Feedback

I really value the feedback I receive when entering challenges. If my design does well, I know I am on the right track and I can make it in other colours and different themes. But even if a design does not do well there is almost more to takeaway from that. I try to look at it objectively and decide if I am still happy with it or what I could do differently next time. Looking over the top 100 designs is a great was to see what people are looking for. I'm not suggesting you change your whole style but maybe you can incorporate other ideas. Sometimes your design is just more niche than what the Spoonflower voters are looking for. Your design will likely still sell, your target audience is just different than what the average voter is looking for.

So, for me it is a definite YES! Entering Spoonflower Design Challenges is Definitely Worth it!

My Spoonflower Design Challenge results until the end of 2024

Date	Design	Place	Entries	Votes	Rank %
08/12/2023	Serene Soft Green Cream Waves	27	1298	169	97.92
12/04/2024	Croissant Soft Textured	29	1299	186	97.77
22/12/2023	Kiwi Honeycombe Block Print	69	1326	157	94.80
10/05/2024	Textured Party Streamers	77	1459	146	94.72
15/12/2023	Dutch Tulips on Muted Blue	109	1379	115	92.10
21/06/2023	Ghostly Garden Floral	130	1404	123	90.74
02/08/2024	Preppy Modern Floral	123	1252	102	90.18
15/03/2024	Minimalist Textured Chevron	223	1862	98	88.02
06/04/2023	Retro Pink and Yellow Geometric	245	2025	101	87.90
26/05/2023	Drifting Dreams and Wishes	232	1589	73	85.40
08/12/2022	Always Bee Mine Honeycomb Hearts	121	802	85	84.91
28/03/2025	Folk Art Heritage Scandi Dutch	274	1663	91	83.52
28/02/2025	Classic Floral Yellow Blue Stripe	405	2308	72	82.45
28/04/2023	Fluttering Butterfly Moth Medley	304	1605	88	81.06
04/08/2023	Aeroplanes Solid	235	1137	61	79.33
02/02/2023	Earth Tone Waves	350	1651	85	78.80
30/06/2023	Geometric Retro Floral in Buttercup	296	1346	66	78.01
14/07/2022	Monochrome Floral Aqua Teal	268	1212	71	77.89
19/05/2022	Twisted Herrringbone	285	1175	50	75.74
25/10/2024	Art Deco Mosaic Scallop	411	1679	60	75.52
07/06/2024	Art Deco Scallops	373	1455	68	74.36
05/01/2024	Mandala Doodles in Peach Fuzz	428	1648	82	74.03
09/03/2023	Hidden Damask Crab Floral	370	1216	66	69.57
24/05/2024	Watercolour Crabs	480	1514	57	68.30
16/03/2023	White Lace Stripes	312	954	66	67.30
10/11/2023	Glowing Snowflakes	327	966	57	66.15
25/08/2022	Black Bats Flying Halloween	313	910	55	65.60
28/07/2023	Autumn Floral Squirrel	577	1624	53	64.47
22/09/2022	Bright Colourful Neon Leaves	389	1090	51	64.31
03/11/2023	Pacific Inspired Geo Floral	449	1245	57	63.94
02/06/2022	Cheerful Trio Dark Day Dream	401	1105	53	63.71
17/11/2022	Art Deco Scales	435	1190	57	63.45
19/05/2023	Maximalist Pattern Clash	495	1348	41	63.28
29/03/2024	Geo Gulls Riding in the Wind	709	1923	55	63.13
02/03/2023	Guinea Pigs on Vacation	333	900	62	63.00
21/07/2023	Monsters in Scales	372	1001	47	62.84
16/02/2023	Muted Rainbows in the Clouds	667	1776	44	62.44
26/05/2022	Vintage Floral Stripe	450	1190	47	62.18
15/09/2022	Victorian Geometric Floral Dark	374	977	52	61.72
12/05/2023	Textured Waves in Aqua Teal	572	1474	48	61.19
01/03/2024	Cute Green Frogs	577	1486	53	61.17
18/08/2022	Tulip Retro in Aqua Teal	521	1333	46	60.92
16/02/2024	Simple Textured Tree Forest	632	1563	51	59.56
19/01/2024	Welcome Pineapple Retro Muted	642	1577	52	59.29
01/09/2022	Soft Modern Granny Squares	273	641	58	57.41
11/08/2022	Galaxy Space Adventures	342	799	47	57.20
16/08/2024	Preppy Cupcakes	443	1025	50	56.78
23/06/2023	Flying NZ Falcons	388	894	37	56.60
07/07/2023	Muted Circles and Flowers	623	1432	35	56.49
09/02/2023	Art Deco Watercolour Scallops	475	1057	44	55.06
30/06/2022	Tricolour Cobra Snakes	403	851	36	52.64
16/06/2023	Watermelon Watercolour Slices	654	1358	41	51.84
20/04/2023	Geometric Watercolour Triangles	821	1611	38	49.04
26/01/2023	Watercolour Bunnies	724	1418	41	48.94
23/03/2023	Midnight Garden	1024	1917	38	46.58
08/09/2022	Geometric Piwakawaka Fantail Bird	586	1077	44	45.59
08/11/2024	Preppy Bouquet in Peachy	781	1405	39	44.41
11/10/2024	Confetti Big 2025 Calendar	539	917	44	41.22
11/04/2025	Bold Floral in Red	1291	2094	27	38.35
23/02/2023	Hexagon Moss Mosaic Tiles	743	1145	27	35.11
16/06/2022	Groovy Tunes Spinning Vinyl	511	717	21	28.73