Designer Guide

Welcome to TheDropVote! As a designer, you create original designs that the community champions and stars crown for production. Here is how to get started:

1. Create your account — Sign up with email or social login, then complete your designer profile.
2. Set up payouts — Connect your Stripe account so you can receive earnings when your designs are crowned.
3. Complete your profile — Add a profile picture, bio, and portfolio link so the community knows who you are.
4. Start designing — Browse stars on the platform and create designs tailored to their brand and audience.

To give your designs the best chance of being crowned, follow these guidelines:

• Original work only — All designs must be your own original creation. No copyrighted or trademarked material.
• High resolution — Submit designs at high resolution for the best print quality. PNG format recommended.
• Transparent backgrounds — Use transparent backgrounds when possible so designs work on different products.
• Consider the product — Think about how your design will look on t-shirts, hoodies, and other products.
• Match the star — Research the star you are designing for. Designs that align with their brand perform better.

Submitting a design is straightforward:

1. Choose a star — Select the star you want to design for from the stars directory.
2. Upload your design — Upload your high-resolution design file through the submission form.
3. Add details — Provide a title, description, and select which product types your design works on.
4. Configure mockups — Preview how your design will look on different products and adjust placement.
5. Submit for review — Once you are happy with everything, submit your design. It will go through moderation before appearing for community voting.

After your design is approved by moderation, it enters the community voting phase:

• Community members champion (vote for) designs they want to see produced.
• Designs are ranked using a Wilson score algorithm that balances total votes with vote ratio.
• Top-voted designs rise to the top of the star's review queue.
• Time decay naturally filters older designs, so fresh submissions stay relevant.
• Share your submissions on social media to drive more community votes.

When a star crowns your design, it means they have selected it for production. Here is what happens next:

• You receive a notification that your design has been crowned.
• The star may record a video blessing — a short video featuring your design.
• Your design enters the production pipeline and becomes a drop in the shop.
• You start earning from every sale of your crowned design.

Mockup configuration lets you control how your design appears on different products:

• Preview your design on t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and other product types.
• Adjust position, size, and rotation for each product type.
• Choose which colors and product variants to enable.
• Well-configured mockups help the community visualize the final product and increase votes.

As a designer, you earn a share of every sale of your crowned designs:

• Earnings are tracked in your designer dashboard in real time.
• Payouts are processed through Stripe Connect to your connected bank account.
• View your full earnings history, including per-design and per-drop breakdowns.
• Payout schedules follow Stripe's standard processing times.

Build a recurring revenue stream by offering subscription tiers to your fans:

• Set up tiers — Create multiple subscription tiers with different perks and pricing (e.g., Bronze at $3-5/month, Silver at $8-12/month, Gold at $15-25/month).
• Define perks — Offer early access to designs, behind-the-scenes content, direct messaging, design requests, and subscriber-exclusive drops.
• Manage subscribers — Track your subscriber count, revenue, and engagement from your dashboard.
• Grow your community — Subscribers receive a supporter badge and become invested in your success.

• Research your star — Study the star's brand, audience, and existing merch before designing.
• Engage the community — Respond to comments on your designs and participate in discussions.
• Promote your work — Share your submissions on social media to drive community votes.
• Iterate and improve — Pay attention to which designs perform well and refine your approach.
• Stay consistent — Regular submissions keep you visible and increase your chances of being crowned.
• Quality over quantity — One excellent design beats ten mediocre ones.