Design exists to solve problems—functional ones, aesthetic ones, or both. But sometimes, instead of improving things, it creates even more problems than it fixes. And if you need proof, just look at this subreddit dedicated to design fails, where people share examples that are so bad, they almost circle back to being good.
Bizarre typos, baffling text placements, confusing instructions, questionable interiors, stairs that seem actively out to get you—it’s all here. Scroll down for the full parade and upvote the best ones. Or the worst ones. At this point, there may not be much of a difference.
#1 It’s Like A Fun Maze For Blind People!
Image source: BinaryBible
#2 The Place I’m Staying Has Running Water On Top Of A Cabinet That Doesn’t Have A Sink
Image source: Carrmann
#3 I Know It Is Sold By Weight, And Contents May Settle … But Maybe It’s Not The Best Idea To Put The Clear Window In The Middle Of The Package?
Image source: Pale-Lynx328
#4 Grocery Store Barcode Scanner Was Scanning Its Own Advertised Barcode, So They Had To Cover It With Permanent Marker
Image source: Troner892
#5 This Building’s Billboard Lights Point Straight To My Bedroom
Image source: Correct_Win_7396
#6 Those Are Five Steps Or More
Image source: g87a_l
#7 Long Invisible Steps
Image source: roman_pokora
#8 Transparent Sticker With Writing On Mirror
Image source: Majestic_Phase3452
#9 Coasters From A Local Designer, But The Sand Is Elevated So The Cups Fall Off
Image source: Ecstatic-Yak-6016
#10 Which Way To Temple 38? Or Group F? Took Me Half A Day To Figure Out That These Signs Are Both Pointing Straight Ahead
Image source: -davros
#11 Watched A Dozen People Try To Push This Door Open Today During Brunch
Full disclosure: I tried to push it open, too. The push plate was not a push plate, the door handle is on the right. All they have to do is spray paint that plate black to fix the issue.
Literally every customer who came in pushed the wrong side initially. And to top it off, every sticker and sign on the door is symmetric so there’s no hint for which side of the door opens!
Best banana bread pudding French toast in the world, though, so I forgive them.
Image source: Illustrious_Can_1656
#12 Half Of The Dosage Instructions For Persil Washing Powder Are Printed On The Strip You Tear Off To Open The Box
Image source: fearville
#13 When You Skip The Typography Section Of Your Groupon Graphic Design Course
Image source: xkelsx1
#14 This “Sudoku” Christmas Tree Decoration Is Clearly A Bingo Card
Image source: Conorcat
#15 My Local Park Benches Made Of Stainless Steel. Too Cold To Sit On In Winter, Too Hot To Sit On In Summer
Image source: TheHyperFlame
#16 Instruction Manual References Parts By Diagram Number, But Diagram Isn’t Labeled
Image source: TRB4
#17 My Soul Just Fell Down These Stairs
Image source: NerdyBirdyAZ
#18 The Button For The Third Floor Is Located At The Very Top Of The Elevator Panel
Image source: [deleted]
#19 The 5 Popo
Image source: Handsome_Bread_Roll
#20 This Birthday Plate Where The Balloon Strings Just Look Like Hair
Image source: FtMFandomBoy
#21 Austrian Elevators Are Hard To Understand
Image source: Austrian_printer
#22 On The Mcdonalds’ Monopoly Game They Removed The ‘Go To Jail’ Character’s Whistle But Left His Cheeks Blowing
Image source: SilverApples
#23 Stairway To Heck
Image source: Catalina_whine_fixer
#24 This Promotional Shot Makes It Look Like The Pump Is Malfunctioning And Causing Major Leakage
Image source: yaamen
#25 It’s Pepper, It’s Red, But We Decided To Assign Red To The Cheese
Image source: morgred13
#26 No Room To Store The Wrench That Comes Outside The Plastic Container As Demo
Image source: cimocw
#27 Eye Drop Bottle Does Not Note That It Is Eye Drops
Image source: gachunt
#28 The Buttons To Change Temp On My Fridge
Image source: MrNobodyX3
#29 Record Label Sumerian Records Uses An Image Of The Sphinx
Image source: Time4Homework
#30 The Wear On This Sticker Where People Have Pressed It Instead Of The Actual Functioning Button
Image source: NewNiklas
#31 Which Way Do I Walk?
Image source: ConsistentLab8661
#32 The Woman Was A Man. And The Girl Was An Adult
Image source: wtclover
#33 Bathroom And Kitchen Combined
Image source: JopeliH
#34 Page Folds On Africa In Global Hunger Map In My Textbook
Image source: Xancrim
#35 Wear No Clothes Sign Is Actually A Penalty Warning
Image source: Flintloq
#36 They Proudly Presented The New Logo Of The Austrian Football Association (Öfb)
Image source: Visual_Fold_7826
#37 Imagine The Logistics And The Cleaning
Image source: Alpoh1502
#38 Apparently That’s A ‘C’
Image source: Firehydrnt
#39 The Words On The Display Of The Marzipan Museum In Germany
Image source: CottonPendulum
#40 This Was Not A Fun Experience
Image source: Atkinator1
#41 I’m No Dogologist But…
Image source: Blackbyrn
#42 Our Small Shopping Centre Has Really Good Direction Signs
Image source: longitudinisx
#43 This Mailbox Speaks For Itself
Image source: muppetcowboy
#44 Apparently This Is A Promo For A Writer’s Festival
Image source: simsimdimsim
#45 Drano Suggests To Use 1/3 Of A Bottle, But Markings On The Side Are In 1/4 Increments
Image source: acherion
#46 A Playground Where You Can Get Burned In Summer
Image source: Sarahsurlalune
#47 Missing Numbers On Kids Height Measurement
Image source: YourAverageRedRum
#48 If You Ever Wanna Watch Yourself
Image source: superiorgarlic
#49 My Family Took Me To The Titanic Exhibit For My Birthday
Image source: That_EngineeringGuy
#50 Hip-Pinching Chairs: I’m A Skinny Guy & These Bang Into My Hip Bones. How Can They Possibly Be Comfortable For Anyone Wider?
Image source: carlcrossgrove
#51 Safety Is Chimney Check Your Clean
Image source: JshWright
#52 The Elevator In This Brand New Parking Garage
Image source: Grsz11
#53 Three Different O Widths Hurts My Brain
Image source: tfowers
#54 These Leviton Switches Have Raised Lettering That Love Gathering And Keeping Dirt In Them
Image source: samureyejacque
#55 What Could Go Wrong! (Btw It’s Pitch Black Until You Hit The Light Switch)
Image source: Potential_Lock_5212
#56 Weird 90° Power Supply Plug That Doesn’t Have Enough Clearance To Fit Correctly Into The Intended Outlets. Need To Buy An Extra Cable To Use It
Image source: DrCyb3r
#57 This Balloon Is 26 Inches Wide. That Is Neither 2 Feet Or 1 Person Tall
Image source: [deleted]
#58 It’s Definitely “Brugre”, Right?
Image source: AsPeHeat
#59 H Wha Fun 🎀
Image source: 7ofeggs
#60 Outdoor Boot Bag For Skiing Pockets Don’t Close So Snow And Rain Can Get In
Image source: DarkThunder312
#61 I Was Wondering Why My Niece Always Zones Out Halfway Through While Counting On This Toy, Until I Noticed
Image source: d-the-luc
#62 Infinity – Spotted In The Wild
Image source: bigusdikus2
#63 This TV That Is Way Too Far From The Bed And Obscured By The Wardrobe @ A Scotland Hotel
Image source: headshotpaul
#64 My Pants Pockets Are Only As Deep As The Bottom Of The Opening, So Anything I Put In Them Will Fall Out
Image source: Knopes
#65 Public Notice Where The Font Is The Main Obstacle To Being Informed
Image source: Pitiful-Bluebird7951
#66 Please Excuse The Mess Made, Memories Are Being
Image source: Zendo7777
#67 Mmmm Colour-Blind Simulator
Image source: PotatoPotatoApple
#68 Ritz’s Guide To A Serving Size
Image source: Reddit-Sama-
#69 Do You Want A Zero Protein Diet? Look No Further
Image source: Kayonji02
#70 Lunchbox Company Uses A Woman Making Juice To Show Their Product Is Hand Washable
Image source: PURPLZMM2
#71 I Guess We Dont Need Spacing Between Go On
Image source: Blue_Storybook
#72 The Emojis Make The A’s Look Like O’s
Image source: 92233720368547758080
#73 This Odd One Out Puzzle Doesn’t Have An Odd One Out!
Image source: easywrite
#74 Bathroom Of An Appartment I Was Viewing For Rent
Image source: chaoze50
#75 This Company’s URL Can Be Any Combination Of These Letters. Guess Which One It Is!
Image source: darlzC
#76 No Pain No Paizza
Image source: Violet_Walls
#77 Regularly Updated Billboard Near My House
Image source: macdaibhi90
#78 Nothing Says “Buy Our Seed” Like 50% Of The Ear Being Undeveloped
Image source: McChiser
#79 Eggnog Puke Cake
Image source: Terytha
#80 Good Luck Plugging Your Charger Into This Outlet On The Hungarian National Railway
Image source: GotHelpGiveHelp
#81 Kids Lingerie 🤔 Not A Good Design
Image source: slysam69
#82 The Dice Shaker That Comes With Yahtzee Is Exactly Two Dice Wide And Has An Internal Edge That The Dice Constantly Get Stuck Behind
Image source: Kimos
#83 Sweet Home Home!
Image source: Worldly-Return-9417
#84 Because Potty Training Needs More Splatter-Producing Elements
Image source: parothed28
#85 Media Buttons On Razer Keyboard Are Unlit
Image source: Rouven-Dillinger
#86 An Advertisement In My Office
Image source: dominic4443
#87 I Just Bought This Thinking It Was Washing Detergent. Nowhere Does It Say Its Fabric Softener
Image source: Geofferz
#88 What Was Even The Plan Here?
Image source: Mundane-Low7125
#89 I’m Not A Design Bruh, But I Couldn’t Even Read This
Image source: HappySheep84
#90 Impossible To Read “What Are We” Without Knowing What You’re Trying To Read
Image source: Yukki64
#91 In The Bathroom At A School I Work At…
Image source: thatfood
#92 Spotted At Seaworld, They Used A Y Shape To Represent A W. So Now It Reads “The Yhale Shop” Shop Instead Of “The Whale Shop”
Image source: gruggiwuggi5
#93 You Switch It Off By Positioning The Rod Exactly In The Middle, No Locking, Free Movement In Any Direction, Opposite To Switch It On
Image source: eXus_Nerubis
#94 Curb To Trip On Between The Sidewalk And Crosswalk
Image source: HappyChandler
#95 Small Gap In Phones Case, Broke First Time I Dropped It
Image source: Zazarian
#96 This Plaque Is Having An Identity Crisis
Image source: Mr_Kek
#97 This Birthday Card I Saw In A Store In Switzerland For $5
Image source: biwook
#98 Happy New Year Everybody!
Image source: Greainy
#99 This Bingo Card From The Female Lead That Was Definitely Designed By Someone Who Has Never Played Bingo
Image source: haleylovesvirgil
#100 The Pre-Cutting On The Paper LEGO Bags Is Pointless
Image source: TomtomXDD
#101 So Is It Off Or Set To 60 Watts?
Image source: jbosh999
#102 Ah Yes, Let’s Just Extend The Railing For Some Reason
Image source: acumen94
#103 My Friend Just Had A Baby And She Has This Sign Above Her Crib
Image source: Strange_Occasion_370
#104 Belgian Urban Design
Image source: laferrarinz
#105 These Storage Steps In A Homemade Tiny Home Look Like An Accident Waiting To Happen
Image source: ThorWinchester
#106 What Good Is The Design If The Words Aren’t Legible?
Image source: GreatestOneInTheSky
#107 The Math On The Back Of This Cereal Box, Is The Polar Opposite Of The Truth
Image source: slammahytale
#108 The Official Coat Of Arms Of Zambesia, An Unrecognized Region In Southern Africa Striving For Independence
Image source: meliax
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