Reasons for a rejected design explained

While under verification, these are the reasons your designs can be rejected:

1- Inappropriate use of stock images, clipart, or is a copy of an existing design

For projects which require completely original artwork like logo design projects, using stock images, clipart, templates, or copying any existing designs means your design will not be suitable for sale on the platform. Any violation of this will result in immediate rejection and deactivation.

2- Design contains generic or overused concepts, or is lacking a concept altogether.

We expect that designers submit their best work during the verification process - if you have to rely heavily on generic designs to be competitive, then you are not fit to be on the platform.

Additionally, submitting generic designs increases the likelihood of a similar design already being in use by another company, therefore increasing the chances of a copyright issue to occur.

At the same time, design submissions that do not make any effort to integrate the industry the logo is supposed to be used in will not be accepted.

We are constantly monitoring the marketplace for designers who only submit generic designs and will take the appropriate action against them as well.

3- Design contains non-vector elements, effects or layers.

This applies to project categories that require vector artwork, like logo design. The design must be completely vector and must not contain photos, raster / photoshop effects (drop shadow, bevel, emboss, glows, inner shadow, etc), or any other non-vector effect.

4- Design does not meet all the project requirements.

This is the most basic thing you should not fail. Submitting designs that do not follow the project brief will result in the immediate rejection of your account.

5- Image quality is blurry / pixelated, or too small.

The recommended submission size in pixels is 1200x1000 pixels (WxH). If there is visible pixelation or if there are any unintended visual artifacts in your design at 100% view, the design will be rejected.

6- Poor design quality and execution - Do not re-submit the same design as-is.

Poor design quality and execution may be the most common reason for rejection. Essentially what this means is the design is not good enough for the platform without major revisions. If a design of yours has been declined for this reason, please do not attempt to re-submit the same design as most likely you will get the same rejection result.

If you think your design concept or idea has some potential, you can rework the design completely and try again.

If the design quality and execution is exceptionally poor, this can result in the immediate rejection of your account.

7- File Corrupted: Image is too big or wasn’t uploaded properly.

Please double check that you exported your design correctly. In Adobe Illustrator, you should use file > save for web > JPG / PNG (100% quality) and make sure the submission image size is the recommended 1200x1000 pixels (WxH). Using this export method means the exported image is optimized for web use and helps with decreasing the file’s size.

8- Please don’t submit a design identical to, or too similar to one you previously submitted.

Unless the customer requested a revision to your design, please do not submit a design barely different from your last one. Focus on the final design you want to submit and stick to that.

We can not delete any accidental duplicate designs that you send (we can only reject them), please exercise caution and review your designs before sending them in.

9- Design presentation is poor - Center and scale the design appropriately.

Presentation is an important part of getting a customer’s attention. If your design is not even centered on the canvas / artboard, or if the design is not sized appropriately (too small or too large), this will only make your design look unprofessional regardless of how good or creative it is.

10- Use of personal watermarks is not allowed.

The submitting designer owns and retains the copyright of the submitted design until the customer selects that design as the winner of a given project. Adding personal watermarks is redundant and just detracts from the presentation and cleanliness of the submission.

For more information, please visit this faq page.

11- Submission contains different design concepts - Please submit each concept separately.

We are reviewing each of your designs on an individual basis, so placing multiple design concepts in a single submission defeats this purpose. Please submit different concepts separately, but make sure not to spam the contest with barely-differing designs (see reason: Please don’t submit a design identical to, or too similar to one you previously submitted.)

12- Use of mock-ups is not permitted at this stage - Design must be flat and placed against a solid white background.

Designers undergoing verification are not allowed to use mock-ups in any of their submissions. Use an appropriately-contrasting, solid-colored, non-gradient background.

Please note most of these guidelines also apply for designers who have already been verified. Following them will increase the chances of your design standing out from the rest and it will also prevent your account from potentially being closed.