November 2025 Spoonflower Design Challenge Brief: Retro Nouveau
Entries: Nov 7-18
Voting: Nov 20 - Dec 2
Results: Dec 12
This month’s first Spoonflower Design Challenge theme is called Retro Nouveau, and I put together a simple creative brief to help guide my design process. I love using these challenges as a way to stretch my ideas, stay consistent in designing, and explore new motifs I might not normally try.
If you’re participating too, feel free to use this brief as a starting point. Sometimes a little structure is all we need to jump in with fresh energy.
Here's what Spoonflower says:
“Bring us stained-glass style elements, curves, geometric overlays or nature-inspired whimsical patterns. For your color palette, think deep maroon, dusty pink, burnt orange, peacock teal, emerald green and golden ochre — retro colors that sing.”
Okay.... So, my first thought was "uh… what?" So my next step was digging deeper into each of these design movements on Pinterest. You can start your own boards or check out mine if you’d like:
Art Nouveau: https://pin.it/4RnQYyEPH
Art Deco: https://pin.it/1oHpqQNOw
Retro: https://pin.it/6DhsSt8v1
Here's a summary:
Art Nouveau (late 1800s–early 1910s) – This style came about as artists started reacting to the cold, mechanical feel of mass production. They wanted to bring beauty and craftsmanship back into everyday life. It’s full of flowing lines, natural shapes, and romantic, organic details — think vines, flowers, stained glass, and lots of graceful curves. Super romantic. Remember the old disney classic opening credits? Art Nouveau.
Art Deco (1920s–30s) – Sleek, bold, and symmetrical. It's all about geometry, metallics, and modern glamour. Picture sunbursts, fan shapes, and elegant repetition in gold, black, and jewel tones. Go watch The Great Gatsby for lots of inspo!
Retro (Mid-Century, 1960s–70s) – Playful, nostalgic, and full of personality. This style embraces bold color and simplified shapes; funky florals, atomic motifs, rounded geometry, and warm earthy palettes like oranges, teals, and avocado greens. I think we're all a bit more familiar with this one. That 70's Show, or.. you know, your grandma's house growing up
Now, put them all together and here's where I've landed on this: whimsical organic motifs + bold geometrical shapes + retro color vibes.
I can’t wait to see how everyone interprets it!
Curious: what do you think of this design challenge? Who is going to be entering? Comment and let's talk about it!
-Sarah
Grab my FREE color palettes, designed specifically for this design challenge!
Screenshot the PNG, or “check out” for free to download the .swatches file that imports directly into Procreate.
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