Not all designs are made equal. And some designers aren’t aware of their epic fails until it is far, far too late. If you consider yourself creative and have good taste, you might want to either look away or do the opposite—stare until it hurts.
The ‘Bad Designs’ online community shames some of the worst designs that have ever been unleashed on the public, and they are a constant reminder that everyone makes mistakes. We have collected photos of the most egregious offenders, and they’re as horrible as they are funny. It’s a wonder that they ever made it off the drawing board!
#1 Just Hanging Around
Image source: anon
#2 This Tap Was Made With Little To No Thinking
Image source: Aramin-Black
#3 The Final Step On These Stairs Looks Like The Floor
Image source: PETEJOZ
Legendary designer Dieter Rams came up with 10 fundamental, iconic principles of design that continue to shape how many creatives approach projects today.
His principles are:
- Good design is innovative
- Good design makes a product useful
- Good design is aesthetic
- Good design makes a product understandable
- Good design is unobtrusive
- Good design is honest
- Good design is long-lasting
- Good design is thorough down to the last detail
- Good design is environmentally-friendly
- Good design is as little design as possible
#4 Melbourne Airport Carpet
Image source: leroywinston
#5 Wipe My What?
Image source: skankboy
#6 Depends On How You Feel That Day?
Image source: ZacBrownVan
The beauty of Rams’ principles of good design is that they are nearly universal. They can be applied even to our digital landscape and app design, too, not just building interiors and product designs.
That being said, there are no such things as timeless rules. Even Rams’ principles might need to be (slightly) adapted and adjusted, and possibly even expanded with so many changes in the tech industry.
#7 An Iraqi Tourism Company Just Announced Their New Logo
Image source: Moeemalik
#8 This Is The Logo That My Local Dentist Went With
Image source: bnrshrnkr
#9 My School Tried To Make The Staircase To The Cafeteria Accessible To Wheelchair Users
Image source: Tuomas_Kiituri
Meanwhile, you have to account for people’s tastes and preferences as well. Not every design—however balanced between function and form—will appeal to every customer. But just because someone doesn’t like what you’ve made doesn’t make your design ‘bad.’ There’s simply a disconnect between what you’re offering and what someone else wants and needs.
And yet, this should not be an excuse for pumping out low-quality designs by claiming that someone, somewhere, will still enjoy them. If you are a designer or run a design business, you need your products to be commercially viable. And that means appealing to more than tiny niches of consumers with bizarre tastes. Without (semi) mass appeal, your business won’t last long.
#10 …
Image source: dentexetneb
#11 I’m Proud To Say This Only Took Me 5 Minutes To Figure Out
Image source: Blood_sweat_and_beer
#12 Wait, What..!
Image source: HeavyGuidance
During an earlier in-depth interview, international freelance graphic designer Laura Vanagaite, who specializes in branding and social media content creation, walked the Bored Panda team through design failures.
“We judge design work anyway for its design, and our eye catches mistakes very fast,” she told us previously.
#13 Which One Do You Choose?
Image source: SirSnootBooper
#14 Designed To Fail !
Image source: shadow4148b
#15 I Am Not Inspired By Music Anymore
Image source: SeniorYoungDude
“Our brain needs less than a second to bring up a judgment, and way more time to rationalize on the topics of ‘bad’ and ‘good,’” the graphic designer told Bored Panda earlier.
“Once we spot a mistake, we tend to stop collaborating with the agency or brand because we believed that they are more reliable and able to deliver a good result. If the final result is made with mistakes, you definitely don’t want to waste your time to clean up a mess again and as well pay for the badly done service.”
#16 Accidentally (It’s Absolutely Not Intentional As It’s A Faith Based Café)
Image source: nah_Im_just_pathetic
#17 Accessibility Ramp At The Resort I’m Staying At In Mexico
There are a bunch of other awful ramps around the premises, but this is definitely the worst one.
Image source: Boring_Customer4982
#18 Took A Bite And Realized It Tasted Too Bland… Someone Really Gotta Redesign This
when the designer prioritizes aesthetics over practicality
(this is a bag of dog treats)
Image source: Easy-Dependent4290
From the graphic designer’s perspective, for any business, building trust with their customers is vital.
There can be various reasons for poor designs. For example, it might be due to a breakdown in communication. Or the designer working on a particular project was less skilled than the team assumed.
“When most people hear ‘human error,’ they do not see the details; they see the person who is completely to blame,” the graphic designer explained to Bored Panda. “But this should always be foreseen by the manager who is in charge from the beginning.”
#19 But Why?
Image source: PoopsMcGroots
#20 This Table At My School…
Image source: Embarrassed_Dog_964
#21 This Amazon Image For A Dog House Heater
Image source: Swedish_Entity
“When you hire an expert in any field, you expect that things will be done the right way and that the mistakes that you would have made won’t happen. If it is a team, it means that the project manager did not pay attention to the final design and just approved it without looking, which shows a lack of professionalism and also not caring too much about the client and the project.”
#22 This Pencil Used To Say “Not Every Disability Is Visible”
Image source: PolyPenguinDev
#23 Not Exactly Your Normal Door
Image source: EndersGame_Reviewer
#24 Fine…fart?
Image source: daria_here
“To define the role of the client and designer, from the beginning there should be a clear brief from the clients’ side and as well the designer should come up with the most important questions which will be solved in the design process,” Vanagaite told the Bored Panda team.
According to her, the designs are reviewed either by a board or with the project manager.
“Once everything gets approved from the management part, then it can be sent to the client to receive either corrections or the complete approval.”
She noted that communication is absolutely vital here. Designers shouldn’t be left to work alone throughout the process. “It is teamwork and the support both from the management part and the creative part that is a must.”
#25 I Thought It Was All Over For Aaron Paul
Image source: spinningwalrus420
#26 Persil “Apple Juice”
Image source: Syn1ax-Err0r
#27 Why Would You Choose This Carpet For Your Hotel?
Image source: BaronVonBroccoli
The ‘Bad Designs’ online group, active since the spring of 2016, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Over the past decade, the community has been inviting people to feast their eyes on the “horrible designs of humankind.”
They wittily note how the subreddit is “a place to show spelling mistakes, poor гeadaьiliтy and overall bad designs!” The members of the community are known in the group as “bad designers,” while those currently online are jokingly referred to as “designing something bad.”
#28 Edgy Design, Or Just Hideous? I’m Voting For The Latter
Image source: Kesslandia
#29 I Would Highly Advise Against Drinking Any Uranium Dioxideperoxide
Image source: iAmFridayFace
#30 The Design Of These Vans Shoes Is Made For Collecting Small Rocks
Image source: TrainPrestigious5563
The moderators running ‘Bad Designs’ ask that the community members only post designs that are very visibly, obviously bad. If it’s not clearly in plain sight, it shouldn’t be posted. What’s more, the mods emphasize that designs that are purposefully made to be bad or funny shouldn’t be shared in the group.
Once you’ve upvoted the pics that you loved to hate the most, why not share your thoughts in the comments? Which of these designs hurt you the most, and why?
What have been your biggest personal creative work-related fails that still make you wince and cringe with embarrassment to this day? Let us know!
#31 This Floor Map In Houston Airport Flipped South America Upside Down
Image source: Lycan_Jedi
#32 F In The Chat
Image source: Unlucky-Operation800
#33 Who Thought This Was A Good Idea?
Image source: anon
#34 Why Not Just Write The Location
Image source: redfishdonkey
#35 Found This Card In Walgreens
Image source: Paradoxyc
#36 This Wc Signs
Image source: hedef_2023
#37 Had To Do A Double Take For This One…
Image source: hoonturp
#38 Poorly Designed Prom Dress From Local HS…
Image source: anonymous
#39 What?
Image source: DemonOfUnholyFat
#40 I Was Looking For The Microwave When It Hit Me…
Image source: anon
#41 Bathroom At My Local Golf Course
Image source: anon
#42 “Hope You Brought Urine”
Image source: Montreseur
#43 This Light Fixture In My Airbnb
Image source: DongleDen
#44 Not Very Wise…
Image source: Finius64
#45 Well…
Image source: TheGoldenDroide
#46 Floor Decal At My Little Brother’s School
Image source: No-System7651
#47 ?
Image source: nah_Im_just_pathetic
#48 What Am I Supposed To Do Now??
My friend bought me scissors because he knew I needed some for something important, but he bought me THIS, I don’t already have scissors bro???!!?? And all the knives in my house are a little too weak because the house I live in was originally a grandpa’s house and he left me most his stuff, like all the knives, but since he was old, THESE ARE NON SHARP KNIVES, Wich don’t help me at all. I don’t understand how a human being taught this was a good design, but remember, it’s just a design, a BAD DESIGN (OMG CRAAZYY NAME DROOP)
Image source: dazekitu
#49 Found This In Waterstones. Caught My Eye, Hurt My Brain
Image source: HahaBean1234
#50 Has… Tuna Been Cancelled?
Image source: razor-alert
#51 This Guys Clock At His Workplace
Image source: submofo2
#52 My Soul Just Fell Down These Stairs
Image source: NerdyBirdyAZ
#53 Local Shop Selling Bottles Of Pain:
Image source: Wonderful_Discount59
#54 Apparently This Is A Bench
Image source: Nico_Repetto
#55 Someone Explain This Railing To Me
Image source: ProbablyAnOcelot
#56 I Love Ben And Jerry’s
Image source: 4kworldwide
#57 Painting Will Clarify
Image source: boop66
#58 This Thing Haunts Me
Image source: anon
#59 Jerma In A Romanian Store
Image source: mashedpotatoes69
#60 Kinda Self-Explanatory
Image source: sonal1988
#61 Pighe Ntear Cheo Htel
Image source: CuteSwan_
#62 This Shirt My Mom Got Has The Png Info
Image source: FellowTrans_Man7
#63 How Did You Read It?
Image source: anon
#64 Don’t Think I’d Feed My Dog This…
I was at Petco and saw this bag of dog food. I’ve never seen it before. I’m both intrigued and disgusted by it.
Image source: ckmoy
#65 Saw This In A Group On Fb
Image source: anon
#66 I Think This Sign Just Gave Me A Stroke
Image source: AlwaysBeLilithNotEve
#67 You See It Too Right?
Image source: Ok_Count5196
#68 The Show Must Goon
Image source: Ok-Lengthiness-7268
#69 Help!! Why Was This At A College I Visited?!???
Image source: anon
#70 Can Someone, Plz, Think On Drunk Kids!?!?
Image source: magomich
#71 Stairs Everywhere
Image source: Lepke2011
#72 My Keyboard At Work. This Should Be Illegal
Image source: User_of_this_name
#73 Wheelchair Ramp Starts And Ends Not On The Respective Ground Levels
Image source: Tiruil
#74 This Men’s Room Sign Looks Like Someone In The Birthing Position
Image source: fracturedcoin
#75 Who Walks Down The Stairs Like This?
Image source: Different_Wind8260
#76 This Sign
Image source: Random_Guy500
#77 I Was Wondering Why My Niece Always Zones Out Halfway Through While Counting On This Toy, Until I Noticed
Image source: d-the-luc
#78 What Is This Even Meant To Say?
Image source: Amazing-Fig2624
#79 A Shelf With German Products
Image source: Stock_Plenty8987
#80 Apparently, This Water Is Supposed To Last Me 14 Hours
Image source: Adam-2480
#81 What Bathroom Do I Use?
Image source: Jensje666
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