What is Springleap?
At first glance Springleap.com is simply an online apparel retailer. However, apart from being the producer of these fabulous garments we aim to serve a greater purpose through our community.
Springleap hosts an online community for people passionate about design. We allow our members to use our website as a platform from which they can express themselves through designing or voting and commenting on designs.
Community members use Springleap to win prizes, network and attain credibility and exposure for their work. Talented artists who want to become known in the design industry can use Springleap as their first step into fame. The designs on our apparel are sourced from people in our worldwide community and are printed on our garments along with the designer's name.
Springleap themed competitions run regularly every two weeks, providing community members with a design brief to adhere to when developing creations. These creations are voted on by the community and the winning design is printed.
Springleap provides design opportunities to our community via design briefs from other organisations too. Through this Springleap acts as a design source for companies who have specific design needs that can be fulfilled through the use of our community.
What is 'a' Springleap?
In the real sense of the word, a springleap is actually a martial arts manoeuvre where the martial artist gets taken off his feet, recovers in mid-air and delivers his opponent a fatal blow (whaka!) before landing safely on his feet. We believe a Springleap is what happens when someone believes in you enough to invest time, effort, risk and resources into your talent to reach your goals faster than would have been possible on your own.
Springleap helps artists take pride in their work by 'springleaping' them into an era of fashion and design.
How much does it cost to enter and how do I become a member?
It won't cost you a thing to enter our competitions or to become a Springleap member!
To become a member on Springleap.com simply take two minutes to register and verify your email address. Once you're successfully registered you'll be able to take advantage of our frequent user specials. You'll also be kept in the loop about upcoming competitions and latest winners via our monthly newsletter.
How do I join?
It's really simple.
On the homepage you will see a sign that says login/join. Click 'join'.
You will then be redirected to a new page where you can fill in some basic details like your username, email and desired password.
Once you click the word 'join' you will be sent an activation email. When you get this e-mail, open it and click on the link enclosed in the body of the text. This will redirect you back to the Springleap website and you can start using the website to participate, contribute or comment.
How does the Springleap competition work?
Every two weeks a new themed competition is posted along with its design brief. Designers need to base their creations around the respective theme.
Each brief will specify the following dates to diarise; a date when submissions for designs open, a date when submissions for designs close, a date when voting starts, a date when voting ends and the date when the winner is announced.
These dates need to be strictly adhered to in order to keep the competitions running smoothly. The submission window is open from two to four weeks and the voting period lasts for two weeks.
Springleap t-shirt design competitions are filled with amazing illustrations from artists around the globe who submit their designs to contend. Once the winner is announced the winning design can be purchased online and at select retailers for R183.
Who chooses the winners?
YOU DO! Springleap.com is a crowdsourcing platform; therefore the choice is entirely up to you and the rest of the community. That way, when the latest Springleap.com winner is announced our entire community will be filled with glee to know that they can be the proud owner of a t-shirt they loved at first sight!
WHOA! What's that "crowdsourcing" word?
Crowdsourcing is a term used to describe the method of obtaining a creative solution to a creative dilemma from the power of a crowd rather than a single individual. Think of when you elect a new president - People compete for the position with a set of agendas and the crowd gets to choose who they collectively like most! Bingo.
Click here: to read Wikipedia's definition of crowdsourcing.
How do I vote?
Follow these easy steps to vote on Springleap.com:
- Register on Springleap.com
- Verify your email address
- Click on the 'Vote' button on the task bar to be taken to the voting pages
- Comment on the design showing on your screen
- Now rate the design you are viewing from '1' to '5' (1 being bad and 5 being great)
- Once you've indicated your vote, the design will switch to one you haven't yet voted on.
- To make sure your vote is fair, vote on every design in the competition.
How do I design for Springleap?
To be a designer on Springleap.com you need the following:
- Access to a computer
- Internet connection
- Creative ability
- Design within the specific competition brief
- Read the T-shirt Submission Pack
There are a few house rules you will need to follow, so if you're serious about entering a design into one of our competitions be sure to download: (and read) the Springleap Submission Kit.
What programs can I use to design?
Springleap.com accepts entries in Adobe Photoshop©, Adobe Illustrator©, Macromedia Freehand©, CorelDraw© and Adobe/Macromedia Flash© formats.
What can I win?
The winner of every standard Springleap themed competition gets a prize worth 7482 South African Rand; half of the amount in t-shirts and the other half in cash.
Massive exposure and credibility are part of the winning package too as a result of having the designers name on the back of every t-shirt their design is on. It's like a signed work of art!
The winning design and the winning designer's avatar are displayed for six weeks on the Springleap homepage including links to their profile on Springleap.com which can direct people to other sites if they please.
What's so special about a Springleap tee?
A Springleap t-shirt is a uniquely South African product. It is a tried and tested fitted t-shirt of the highest quality material, locally produced 160g combed cotton.
Every design is created by up-and-coming designers from across the globe. Each one selected by our online community in a crowdsourcing process.
A Springleap tee has an awesome design on the front and the designer's and design name on the back. A specially created work of art signed and delivered for you to wear proudly for only R183.
What else can I do on Springleap?
There are so many ways to participate at Springleap!
Any registered user can set up a profile, write a blog posting, vote and comment on designs, converse with other users, submit creations to competitions, upload photos, and buy Springleap tees.
The stage is yours. We hope you enjoy your Springleap experience! Thanks for visiting us!
