Anatomy of a challenge week

Monday: the concept opens

The challenge cycle advances automatically; the entry window starts the moment a concept opens. A countdown appears on the page, and from that instant everyone has the same amount of time.

Entries sit in the gallery in the order they arrive; no score is shown until voting starts. Submitting early doesn’t push a design forward, and submitting late doesn’t bury it.

Midweek: the entry window

Entry is a single submission. Location and device details in the image you upload are removed automatically, so a shot from your phone never tells the gallery where it was taken.

You can keep working on the design during this window; submitting is committing. When the timer runs out entry closes and voting begins.

The transition: voting opens

Voting opens the moment entry closes and runs for a full week. Whatever day or hour a challenge closes, every gallery gets the same time.

Voting: 5/3/1

A voter picks three designs from the gallery and ranks them: 5 points to the first choice, 3 to the second, 1 to the third. You cannot vote for your own entry.

The vote is one-shot and cannot be changed once recorded. That is exactly why ranked preference replaces one-tap likes: “they’re all great” isn’t an available answer — you have to choose.

Take an illustrative week: even if two designs collect the same number of first choices, the spread across second and third choices decides the order. A broadly liked design can pass the favourite of a small but devoted group.

Results: the reputation ledger

When voting closes the results are computed and the podium is published. Points are written into the member’s reputation ledger, which in turn feeds titles and the standings.

There is no cash prize and no merchandise. What is won is standing inside the community — a deliberate choice, because prize money opens voting up to things other than the design.

Takeaways

• During the entry window the gallery shows entries in arrival order; no scores appear until voting starts.
• Voting opens when entry closes and always runs for a full week.
• 5/3/1 demands ranked preference; the vote is one-shot and final.
• The prize is reputation, not cash — points feed titles and standings.