Contest Survey Results

Hi All,

I can’t wait to share with you the results of the survey about the Roomstyler Contests. In the end, 91 of you participated and I’m very happy about that. It gives me a much fuller picture of who you are, what you want, what’s on your mind. Let’s get started soon, because there’s a lot to tell.

Results
You can find all the results here https://blog.roomstyler.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Contest-Survey-Results.pdf

In short
• Almost 75% of the participants say that being part of the Roomstyler interior designer community is important or very important for them. This result did not surprise me after all the passionate reactions I received since the beginning of this weblog.
• Almost 65% spend more than 4 hours a week on Roomstyler.
• More than 70% of the participants say that the contests are an important reason to be and stay active on Roomstyler and most of them do it for having fun.
•  The race is undecided when it comes to the amount of contests per week. I can already reveal that we will be adding a third contest per week.

Template or no template
I have received many responses to the question “I find contests with a template room more fun than an open contest“. Over 38% disagreed and over 34% could not make a choice, while 27% find a template contest the most fun. We will just keep alternating them so there is choice for everyone.

Community Contests
Almost 70% of the participants would like to propose contests. That was what I expected since quite a lot of contests are put online by RS designers. From now on we are going to make sure that you can submit suggestions. I will come back to this in a separate blog very soon and explain how we are going to organize this together with and for you. A large majority would like the creator of the contest to be highlighted. We are going to offer this possibility as well, see next blog.

Speed contests
There were people who would like speed contests as well. I am curious if that applies to more of you. Who knows, maybe we can consider it then and give it a try. Please respond and let me know if you like the idea and then which form appeals to you most.

Comments
Nearly 87% say that being able to comment on entries is very valuable. However, it is rightly noted by some that cyberbullying and making mean, negative comments should be prevented. Maybe a flag option should be available for this too someone suggests.

If I could put something on the RS wish list myself, I would prefer to change ‘comments’ to ‘compliments‘. Let’s use this place to encourage and appreciate each other. If someone is looking for constructive criticism, they can indicate that and everyone can respond in a positive helpful way, like most of you already do.

Flags
Being able to flag entries yourself is also very important. You want to flag for plagiarism, or for not fitting the contest description. Several of you would like to have the option to include an explanation of why they placed a flag.

At this time, posting the comment with a flag is not yet possible but we will put it on the RS wish list. I myself check the entries and flags regularly and occasionally withdraw entries if I see a need to do so. It would be easier for me sometimes when I can read why a room is being flagged. And I always send a constructive email to the designer to indicate that I am withdrawing the entry and why I think it is necessary.

Voting
The participants indicate that the voting by the community itself is basically fine. (However, there are some irritations among some about the fact that the same people often win and that not everyone takes the contest briefing equally seriously. Let’s talk about these subjects together at a later time.) There was not much enthusiasm for setting up a jury, so we will not do that at this time. Who knows, maybe at a later time this will change.

When you encountered an unpleasant comment, please do not respond to it yourself, but report it to me by email so that I can do something about it.

Rules
I completely understand that some of you find it annoying when an entry is not done exactly to the letter. The rules are there for a reason. They are meant to create a framework within which you can work, so that it is possible to compare. And that you can be very surprised by all those different, creative beautiful designs!

We are all different and some find following rules important, while others want to be able to move around more freely and still change that camera angle or put in another window despite the friendly request not to do so.

Let’s never forget that it’s all about fun! If you feel more comfortable staying to the description, be sure to do so! If you see someone else taking more liberties, breathe in and breathe out. If needed, place a flag. If enough people agree with you, the entry will be withdrawn. 

Periods
Most of you are satisfied with the periods to design and vote. So we’re not going to change that for the time being.

Notifications
I have asked you which notifications you would like to receive regarding the contests. I now have a good idea of that and have put it on the RS wish list. So for the time being this is not there yet but as soon as it changes you will hear from me!

Seeing entries
Some of you let me know that they are not able to see all the entries. That is rather strange. If you have this problem please email me a screendump and let me know on what device you are working on. I can not promise I can solve the problem for you but we will have a look at it.

Forum/chat
Some people miss the forum. It was helpful in getting explanations and ideas from others for example. Others would like a (non public) chat function as well. I wrote it all down on the RS wish list and we’ll come back to it.

Let me know what you guys think of the results, of the fact that we are going to do community contests, whether speed contests are a good idea, and whatever else comes to mind when it comes to the contests.

I’ll get back to you on community contests asap and probably have other fun news coming up next week.

59 Replies to “Contest Survey Results”

  1. Wow! A lot of people did that form. I unfortunately did not get to do it though. 🙁 I sure want to do the next form though!

  2. Hi Saskia how are you? This was a literal shower thought, but I was thinking maybe there could be the option to favorite/like a item so it’ll be easier to find it the next time I want to use it? Like there could be this section with “Favorited Items”? Hope you have a great day! 😀

    1. Hi kitacat,

      You’re certainly not the only one wondering about this. As I told Kerry before in the weblog:
      The short answer is yes!
      A favorite list is definitely an option once we have switched to the new editor. This list can not only contain all the furniture items and accessories but also materials and colors for example. This allows you to quickly add them to any new or current room. It’s will be a great feature to work with!

    2. That’s actually an awesome idea. I would also like to suggest that we can search things not only by color and size but also maybe by material? Some times I write a material in the search engine but unless it is stated in the title of the product it won’t appear. I’m guessing this might be more complicated depending on the product but I think it would help a lot.
      And also being able to search a wallpaper by color or name and maybe expand the color palette in which we can search by color?
      I could go on on suggestions but since I don’t know what changes are going to be made maybe you already thought about all that haha

      1. Hi catarina,

        I just see that I haven’t responded to your post yet. Sorry.
        You will definitely be able to find things better in the search engine, including by material and color.

  3. Thanks for the results!! I was not able to fill out the form because It expired, but I want you to know that your “compliments” idea is great. I often get mean comments on my rooms 🙁

    1. Hi Norbosa,

      Nice of you to respond. Too bad you weren’t able to participate in the survey yourself this time.

      I’m sorry to hear that you get mean comments about your rooms on Roomstyler. That is really not the intention and you certainly do not have to solve it alone. Please email me if it happens again.

    2. Aww, Norbosa I’m sorry to hear that I think that a lot of the bulling went away when me and some others put a stop to it, I’m sorry about insecure people who don’t realize what a gorgeous handful of rooms u have I luv ur rooms

      ~ Always a fan
      And a friend
      Itsavannah 🙂

    3. Aww, I’m sorry that happened to you Norbosa. If you want to talk at anytime, we have a community chat that everyone is welcome to join (it’s on my page 🙂 ) We are all here to support each other <3

  4. Great to see the results, Saskia…Looking forward to any improvements as far as bullying is concerned, though I notice comments are sometimes misunderstood for the worse. I would like to suggest members ask for clarity if uncertain what a commenter means before getting upset and turning their comment section into a drama….I realise many members are very young, so I understand the immaturity factor. Hard to define bullying, will need to be handled extremely carefully, as I’m sure you are aware, Saskia. Just thought I’d bring these ideas to the table 🙂 Thank you all team for all you do and are doing! <3

    1. Hi Teri,
      Thank you so much for your thoughtful input. I find that very valuable.

      Of course you are right when you say that some comments are misunderstood causing things to escalate. Very annoying and sometimes indeed unnecessary. If we all take a moment to read again what you have written as a comment, or to check whether your first reaction to it is correct, then we are already a step further together. Asking for clarity is also a very good tip.

      But it is a sensitive topic and we are with a very diverse group of people so completely resolving it will take some time but these are valuable first steps. I will pass on your thanks to the team!

    2. It should also be borne in mind that not everyone speaks English and is forced to use a translator. The google translator sometimes translates pretty badly, not to mention if someone hasn’t learned English, they will think in their native language and translate accordingly. It can cause a lot of misunderstanding if someone doesn’t translate what they want well. I also had a case where the little girl interpreted what I wrote as if I was in bad faith.

      1. Absolutely true!
        I speak in first person, I am Italian and my English is not very good. I happen to have to use translators to express more complex concepts and I often wonder if what I say can be misunderstood because maybe there are idioms in Italian that have another meaning in English.

        1. Of course !! There are plenty of terms in every language that are very difficult to translate! The Hungarian language is also full of such words and expressions, which have no real English equivalent!

  5. It would be cool if we had a way to put our different rooms in folders, like “living room” or “bedrooms.”
    Don’t you think?

    1. Yes, I sooo agree! I really wanted to be able to like put stuff into folders or even customize my page so I can organize which are my favorite designs at the top or even display sections. (like some are announcements, some are old designs, some are new designs, some are book themed, some are bedrooms) I know it’s a lot of work so I don’t really expect this to be done but it would be cool! 🙂
      Also thank you for this update @Saskia! 🙂

  6. Oh no, I have been spending hours on Roomstyler every day for a long time now and I took a break from it recently and missed the survey! Nooooo 🙁 Oh well!

    Its great that you have taken the time to conduct a survey and share and discuss the results with us all. Go YOU!!

    I saw a comment above, about having a favourites list where you can add all the furniture, items, wallpaper etc that you use all the time. That will be a very welcome addition. I currently have all my go-to items typed in a Word document and I just copy and paste them into RS but – honestly – that is time consuming (especially since my Word doc is now about 12 pages long hahaha!)

    I think if I could have 2 things in the new version of RS i would like, the ability to drag and drop paint/tiles/timber finishes etc onto the architecture pieces, like on the sloping ceilings and floor pieces….OMG that would make for some pretty exciting designs! (although I bet that wouldn’t be easy for you to do!)

    And also, triangular cut-outs/windows, with changeable lengths (so they’re not all just equilateral) — I know this is a big ask but it would give so much more to the designers architectural finishes.

    Thanks for being a listening ear for this creative community! 🙂

    1. Hi Nicky,

      What a shame you missed the survey.
      I hope you agree with the results as I shared them in the earlier blog.
      If there is anything you would like to add, of course you can. Email me at saskia@floorplanner.com.

      Nice to see you back from your break and offering suggestions right away.
      The favorite list can indeed save you a lot of time:-)

      In the new version you can certainly start adding all kinds of materials to floors and walls.
      So the designs will only get more beautiful.

      I think more is possible with cutouts and windows but I can’t promise you what exactly is possible.

      In short, there is plenty to look forward to.

  7. A lot of people used windows in the Arty toilet competition. The rule was that nothing could be changed! Did I misunderstand?

    1. Hi Zsuzsanna,

      Nice to hear from you again.

      I’ve seen that it go all directions in the toilet contest and that makes me realize that you have to be very specific about what you can and cannot do.

      I said: don’t change the space itself, so leave walls and doors as they are.
      I did not say specific that adding windows was not allowed.
      So that’s what some people will do, I learned now.

      So the answer to whether you misunderstood is difficult to give.
      In any case, you have interpreted it differently than other designers do.
      It is a valuable learning moment for me in any way.

      1. Hello Saskia,
        I am new on the site and I am so happy to be part of such a wonderful project.
        I would like to drop a comment concerning the “toilet room” contest. In my opinion, the rules were clear enough and, in this respect, Szuszanna was right. Placing a window on the wall is nothing like leaving the wall as it is – try it in real life 🙂 🙂
        Well… I am a rigorous person and I like rules, even in the recreational area but, in the given contest formula, I think that it is up to the electors to not vote rooms which do not follow rules… well… in theory… 🙂
        Best wishes to all readers, Monica

        1. Hello Monica,

          Welcome to Roomstyler.com. Nice to hear that you are so excited. And involved, too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the toilet contest.

          And I understand very well what you are saying. I didn’t intend for windows to be installed when I came up with the contest either. I’m coming to the realization that i should then explicitly specify that for people who are exploring the boundaries. I will do a better job of that from now on.

          We are all different, some strict, others more casual. And precisely these differences are the strength of this community. It’s great to see what’s being made, how much talent there is and to see designs that you wouldn’t have thought of yourself.
          Have fun designing!

  8. Thank you for your reply Saskia.
    I totally agree with you, diversity makes the beauty of this place and YES, many designers are tremendously talented – a good reason for me to be here and learn. And YES again, you are doing a great job, be sure of that! 🙂
    Back to the contests, I see them as a challenge for my skills (contests rules are important here), a chance to learn from the bests and a chance to visibility. So, I am glade to see how involved you and the community are in organising the contests and I cannot wait to see what’s next.
    OK. Back to work now!

  9. Hi Saskia!
    First of all, thank you for all this information. Personally I was able to vote on your form and I am very happy with it.
    As for suggestions and improvements, I agree with those who proposed the wish list and the possibility of dragging colors, tiles, materials onto the architectural elements.

    Two other things that I would like very much are first of all the possibility of “cutting” the walls in height. At the moment if we have to create a low wall we must necessarily insert a door and adapt it to the dimensions we need. It would be more practical to be able to adjust the height of the single wall without affecting the height of the whole room as it is now.
    The other thing is about being able to adjust the height of the decorations (candles, books, vases, flowers, etc.). At the moment you can only do some things and you waste a lot of time trying to work with platforms and tables placed outside the room to be able to place things.
    I don’t know if I have explained myself well … my English is bad, I hope you understand what I mean.

    Thanks again for all the information and updates you give us ^^

  10. Hello ChichiAsr,

    Thank you so much for taking part in the survey and being involved. All the information has given me a much better picture so we can improve the contests.

    I would like to respond to your suggestions:
    • In the new tool it is possible to apply paint, tiles and other materials on for example floors, doors and walls. It will make all of you happy.

    • It is also possible to start making sloped walls and even ceilings without all the tricks.

    • Changing dimensions is possible for a lot of items out of the library.

    I think and hope I understood you well. If not, Please let me know. I enjoy being in touch with you guys!

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  14. I would like to suggest that the contests are mostly just popularity contests. The more followers you have, the more votes you will receive. I guess that makes some sort of sense as I always try to vote for my sister, but it can be frustrating. I also wonder if some people in the design business are competing against lay people.
    I just wanted to get that off of my chest and I expect that no changes are necessarily needed. Thank you for allowing me to rant. 🙂

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  19. I love the contests and enjoy doing research on the different styles which are presented. I realize they are mostly a popularity contest; the more who follow you the more votes you get. I try my best to review each design according to the contest rules and vote for the best designs within those rules. I understand there are those who feel they are limited by rules, however, I believe the rules are what help to expand our skills and create equality for the contest entries; even though the contests are for fun, it still creates equality for the entries. There are some very talented people on here.
    That being said; I truly enjoy looking at the designs others come up with for the same contests.

    I too miss the forum and agree it should be for you, those you follow, and your followers.

  20. Hi! I haven’t submitted to a contest in years, and am so exited to start again. I’m trying to enter one now, but the only room options it is giving me to enter are about 5 super old rooms. Why aren’t any of my newer rooms showing up?

    1. Hello Brett, are you using the new editor. Those projects cannot enter contests yet as there is tomuch difference betweeen the new editor and the old one.

      1. No, I’m using the old one. Its really odd, only 5 of my designs show as options to pick to enter. I definitely have way more than 5 not using the new editor.

  21. Also using old one, only 2 of my designs show options to pick enter, i also DEFINTALLY have more than 5 !

    1. Hello Nina,

      Could you elaborate on this. I am not sure what the issue is. Are you unable to enter your rooms into contests?

      You can also mail me at luc@floorplanner.com so we can exchange screenshots and more.

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