[frogfish]

I just want to take a minute to explain the changes that were made to this month's Design Challenge and why things are different this time around. Since the March Design Challenge was the first one, this is very much a trial and error process. Some changes were inevitable...

First, anyone can enter either the "Earning My Ears" or "Mouseketeer" categories; they are not specifically newbie and pro categories. Even with absolutely no designing experience, you can enter the "Mouseketeer" category as long as you are willing to create items that follow the specific guidelines set out for that category and go through the quality check process.

The quality check was determined to be necessary because these items will be offered for sale in the MS store. When someone purchases a kit from a store, they expect it to be a high quality product. Expectations of kits in the MS store will be no different. The quality check process will help ensure customer satisfaction. With the enormous variety of submissions in the March DC, it also became evident that a more structured set of submission guidelines was necessary for items that will be put into the store. Everyone needs papers for their layouts, but if the DC collab contains 100 papers and only 5 elements it won't be very useful to most people. Hence, the "Mouseketeer" category.

So why two different categories? Understanding that some people may be intimidated by the quality control process and may not be ready to compile a complete mini kit, the "Earning My Ears" category was created. Challenges should be fun and if you just want to create what you can to have fun, the "Earning My Ears" category is for you.

If you are serious about designing, even if you have never done it before, entering the "Mouseketeer" category would give you the benefit of feedback and constructive criticism on your submission. There is a lot more to designing than many people realize and going through a QC will most certainly make you a better designer.

We are trying to make this the best it can be and I appreciate your patience and continued participation! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask in this thread or contact me by PM. Thank you!