Partner program
Four designs a month. Refract, free for life.
Partners contribute templates to the shared catalog that every new project starts from. In return you use the whole tool for free: no watermark, unlimited apps, and every canvas size. Stay for 100 published designs and it is yours permanently.
An account is required to apply, and so is a link to your work.
What you get
The whole tool, in exchange for the catalog.
Refract, free while you contribute
No watermark, unlimited apps, and every canvas size across App Store, Play, social and print. That is $12 a month you never pay. After 100 published designs it becomes permanently yours, whether you keep contributing or not.
Your work, in front of everyone
Published templates sit in the picker that opens with every new project. It is the first screen people see, so your designs get real use rather than sitting in a gallery.
Credit that stays
Your name stays on what you contribute. If you leave the program later, your templates and your credit stay in the catalog either way.
Design in the tool you already use
There is no separate submission format. Build a project in the editor, hit “Save as template”, and it goes to review exactly as you made it.
How to join
Four steps to get started.
- 01
Create an account
Applications are tied to an account, which is where the access lands and how your monthly contributions get counted. The free plan gives you the whole editor, so you can try Refract before you apply.
- 02
Share a link to your work
A portfolio, Dribbble, Behance, GitHub, or a store listing you designed. This is required, and it carries most of the decision. We look at the work itself rather than how the application is written.
- 03
We review and reply
Every application gets an answer by email, usually within a few days. Approval switches your free access on straight away and opens template submissions on your account.
- 04
Ship four designs a month
Any category. Submit from the editor, we review each one, and the ones that fit go into the catalog. Your running total sits on this page all month.
The commitment
At least four designs a month, in any category.
That is the whole obligation, and we would rather be blunt about it up front. The access is the other half of it rather than a signing bonus, so the contribution has to be real. If you design regularly, four a month should be comfortable.
4 accepted designs / month
Counted per calendar month, in UTC. A multi-screen set counts as one design. Submissions still in review are shown separately and are never held against you.
- Four accepted designs, every month
- The count is of accepted work, so four drafts that never make the catalog will not cover a month. Anything still waiting on our review is shown separately and never counts against you.
- Any category you like
- App Store sets, Play listings, Instagram and LinkedIn posts, flyers, invites, menus. There is no per-category quota and nothing gets assigned to you, so design what you are best at.
- Original work, yours to give
- Templates go into a catalog that other people build commercial listings from. Please do not submit anything you lack the right to license that way.
- A first month with no quota
- The month you are approved is free, because nobody can ship four designs if they are approved on the 28th. Your commitment starts with the first full month.
- The access runs with the program
- While you are a partner, Refract is free and unwatermarked. If you leave or are removed before 100 published designs, that ends too and your account returns to the free plan. At 100 it is permanently yours and nothing can take it back.
How we keep track
You will always know where you stand.
Your monthly total is recorded automatically from what you publish, and it stays on this page all month. It is the same number we see, so your standing should never surprise you.
Counted as you publish
Every accepted template is credited to the month you submitted it. Re-editing an old template will not credit it twice, and rejected drafts do not count.
A reminder before the month ends
If you are off pace with a week to go, you get one email while there is still time to finish. It arrives at most once a month, so it never turns into a stream of nagging.
Flagged before anything else
A month that closes below four flags your standing and tells you why, and catching up clears it. A flag never touches your access. Only leaving the program does, and only before you have vested.
Apply
Send us a link to your work.
You need an account and a link we can open. Everything else on the form is optional.
Checking partner status…
Questions
- What happens to my free access if I leave the program?
- Before 100 published designs, it ends with the program and your account goes back to the free plan. The access is what we trade for the contributions rather than a gift on top of them, so it does not outlast them. Missing a month does not trigger this; only actually leaving or being removed does.
- When does the access become permanently mine?
- At 100 published designs, which is roughly two years of meeting the quota. Past that it is unconditional: you can stop contributing entirely, or leave the program, and you keep no watermark and unlimited apps for good. You have more than paid for it by then.
- What counts as a design?
- One published template. A multi-screen set counts as one, so a five-screen App Store story uses a single slot of your four. Sets are also far more useful to the catalog than single screens, which shows in what we accept.
- What happens if I miss a month?
- The month closes, your standing is flagged, and you get an email saying how short it came in. A flag changes nothing about your access. Catching up the following month clears it automatically, and you will always hear about it from us first.
- What if I know a month is not going to work?
- Email hello@refractdesign.app and say so. Pausing takes about two minutes to arrange, and we would much rather hear it from you than flag the month.
- Can I apply again if I am turned down?
- Yes, with new work. A rejection is usually about fit with what the catalog needs at that moment rather than a verdict on your design.
- Do I need to pay for anything first?
- No. The free plan gives you the complete editor, and partners never pay for anything.
- Are the templates I contributed affected if I leave?
- No. They stay in the catalog with your name on them, and that does not change whether you leave, are removed, or simply stop. Only your own access to the paid features is tied to the program.
Anything the page did not answer: hello@refractdesign.app