How Spoonflower Design Challenge Voting Works

In my Facebook community, we’ve been chatting a bit about the design challenges, and I wanted to take a minute to talk about how voting actually works on Spoonflower because understanding it can really help shape how you approach each challenge.

Who votes:

Voting is open to everyone; both the general public (people who shop on Spoonflower for fabric, wallpaper, and home goods) and other designers on the platform. So your audience is a mix of buyers and fellow artists.

How voting works:

Each voter has to choose a minimum of three designs to vote for, but they can vote for as many as they want. The designs are randomized for every voter, meaning everyone sees them in a different order. You can’t say “mine’s on page four!” — your design might show up on page 1 for one person and the very last page for another.

There’s also no direct link to your specific entry. At first this all feels frustrating because you can’t just send your family/friends or followers straight to vote for you, BUT here me out - it’s actually a good thing. It keeps the challenges fair, so the same few designers with big followings don’t win every time. It levels the playing field so that the designs that truly resonate with voters have the best chance of winning or at least placing in the top 100.

Why you should vote (and how it helps you):

Even if you haven’t entered a challenge yet, I really recommend jumping in and voting. It helps you get a feel for what types of designs catch your eye, and it also subtly helps your own engagement.

Remember that Spoonflower isn’t just a selling platform; it functions a bit like a creative social network. When you favorite or interact with other designers’ work, they can see that and sometimes they’ll come check out your shop or follow you in return. Staying active (favoriting, commenting, voting, entering design challenges, uploading designs for sale consistently) tells Spoonflower’s algorithm that you’re engaged with the platform, which helps your shop visibility over time.

A note about what people vote for:

When you get in there and start voting, you might notice that you don’t only vote for designs that perfectly follow the prompt — you’ll also vote for designs that just feel visually appealing or call to you for one reason or another. That’s important to remember as a designer: you absolutely want to follow the brief well, but also think about what makes a design broadly appealing to others.

That doesn’t mean designing for trends or sacrificing your style — it just means finding that sweet spot between your creative voice and what feels appealing to shoppers. Designs that capture both are more likely to connect deeply with voters.

So, I recommend getting in there and voting in the current design challenge! This is a fun one, especially as you move into potentially entering the Retro Nouveau challenge. I'm certain you're going to see some work that inspires you!

Here’s the link to the current challenges: https://www.spoonflower.com/design-challenge

Remember, you can vote for at least three, but as many as you’d like.

Grab a cup of tea, take a some time to scroll, vote for the ones that grab you, and start getting a feel for how the process works. The more familiar you are with the voting flow, the easier it’ll be when it’s time to promote your own entries in the future!

PS: If you aren't on Spoonflower yet, that's okay - you can still vote as a guest!

- Sarah