How do Minted Challenges work?

While Minted Challenge timelines vary depending on the size, type, and seasonality of the challenge, we’ve detailed our normal challenge process into 4 periods below.

• Submission 
  
• Critique and Voting
• Winners Announcement
• Files Submission/Launch

All active Minted Challenges are posted on our Challenge Page. For the latest challenge updates and projected timelines, see our Weekly Updates & Estimated Challenge Calendar, updated every Monday.

Challenge timeline

Submission

For most challenges, the submission period typically remains open for 2-5 weeks. We also occasionally host quickfire challenges, for which the submission period can be as short as one week. Quickfire challenges typically consist of a smaller assortment with fewer picks, which is why the submission period is shorter for those challenges.

Critique and Voting

All challenges will have a Critique Period, during which time artists can provide feedback to one another and edit their submissions. The Critique Period begins as soon as the submission deadline for a challenge passes and typically lasts 24 hours. Voting begins immediately after the Critique Period has ended. The voting period generally lasts about 2-4 weeks but can be shorter for quickfire challenges. Always check the challenge announcement emails for exact Critique Period lengths and voting deadlines, as these can vary!

Winners Announcement

After voting closes, our merchandising team reviews the submissions, as well as voting and consumer data, to determine the challenge winners. We aim to announce winners within the month following the end of the voting period. It may take an additional few weeks to determine Editor's Picks and, later, Special Prize winners - a lot of careful thought and deliberation goes into those decisions!

File Submission/Launch

If your design wins a challenge, you'll receive an email with instructions on how to submit your final files. We usually ask for these within a week of announcing the winners.* Generally, you have about 2 weeks to provide the files after we send the request. However, sometimes we might need them sooner to make sure your work launches on time. Once we have your files, it will usually take a few weeks to a few months for your design to appear on our site. The launch time depends on how many other designs are also being launched.

Please see this FAQ section for more information about the file request and submission process.

*Please note: Holiday and wedding challenge file requests work a bit differently. Since these designs are hidden after voting for competitive reasons, you won't be able to see your submissions while the challenge is hidden. Not to worry, your designs are safe! They'll be visible again once winners are announced. For holiday challenges, we request files before publicly announcing challenge winners to ensure a timely product launch.