“It’s through mistakes that you actually can grow. You have to get bad in order to get good.”
Paula Scher, one of the most influential graphic designers of our time, once uttered those words in reference to design. And while I’m sure she was being honest, I think some designers really took those words to heart and somewhere along the way abandoned the “getting good” part of their plans.
Below, we’ve gathered some of the most atrocious examples of design that have been shared on this subreddit that’s dedicated to roasting terrible design. From signs that induce headaches just from trying to read them to ovens that melt their own knobs, apparently, there are plenty of bad designers out there who need to grow a bit (or a lot) before they start producing excellent work.
Be sure to upvote all of the photos that make you want to fire a designer somewhere out there, and let us know in the comments what the worst examples of design you’ve ever seen were. Keep reading to also find an interview we were lucky enough to receive from graphic designer, writer and the man behind Identity Designed, David Airey. Then if you’re interested in checking out even more examples of horrific design, you can find some of our previous articles on the same topic here, here and here.
#1 Why Would You Do This?
Image source: AlephMartian
#2 This Playground Is Built In A Hole And Fills With Water When It Rains
Image source: iitc25
#3 My Local University Has A Number Of Human Sculptures On Roofs Of High Buildings, Often Mistaken For Real People
Image source: Cupfeet
#4 You’ve Seen Crappy Elevator Button Designs Before. Get Ready For The Crappiest Elevator Button Design You’ve Ever Seen
Image source: AdhesiveHelplessness
#5 What Was Wrong With Blue Water?
Image source: Dere_Dere
#6 Not Sure The Cover Artist Read The Book?
Image source: LWYPLTDG
#7 The Shadows Of The Numbers Are In A Different Font Than The Numbers Themselves
Image source: GHarold101
#8 Couldn’t Figure Out Why I Kept Grabbing The Wrong Size Out Of The Multipack Box… Then Realized All 3 Sizes Come In All 3 Colors!
Image source: facemymusic
#9 Are You 25 Feet Tall, Own A Multimillion Dollar Yacht And Want To Hand Wash Your Yacht Fully Clothed While Out To Sea? We Have An Inflatable Dock For You!
Image source: Vincenzo77
#10 Oven Vents Directly Onto The Knobs, Making Them Discolored And Burning Hot To The Touch.
Image source: Periphery755
#11 This Ad In My Print Copy Of The New Yorker
Image source: crispytacofan
#12 1 Person Is Ok, 2 People Is Ok But In Red
Image source: Luis008_
#13 Not Sure Who’s Allowed To Park Here
Image source: Kowboooy
#14 The Ad Literally Says, “Modern Kitchen, Great Layout, Bright And Spacious!”
Image source: mercuryrising137
#15 Insane Menu At An Insane Sandwich Shop
Image source: Ultimichael
#16 Terrible Sign Color Choices
Image source: bobwithlobsters
#17 7ft Pool Holds An Entire Family. (Legs Not Included)
Image source: CallPhysical
#18 If Only There Was A Letter In Flame That Could Resemble A Flame
Image source: dickb0tt
#19 Supposed To Be Finally 21 But Spacing Makes It Looks Like A 12
Image source: Shadowpilot6
#20 A Catalog For A Clothing Company I Once Worked At. How Was This Cover Ever Approved?
Image source: Taste_of_Natatouille
#21 A Beautiful Hardwood Bridge We Built At Work. Wheelchair Accessible. Comes With A Nice Steel Pole Almost Smack Bang In The Middle. This Is What Happens When Architects Refuse To Change Their Plan Even When Common Sense Says Let’s Move The Bridge
Image source: BenignAndAHalf_
#22 Investing Ad Shows A Picture Of A Negative Return Rate
Image source: SirBorf
#23 This Chicken Cookbook Has An Index Entry For Chicken
Image source: FloppyTunaFish
#24 This Awful Photoshop For A Slide I Saw An Ad For. Why Are They Wearing Normal Clothes In The Water? What The Heck Is Going On In The Background? So Many Questions!
Image source: Rimm9246
#25 Feel Like This Airline Overestimates The Danger Of Rogue Origami Birds
Image source: Zealousideal_Emu_493
#26 Who Wants A Nice Cold Formaldehyde Beverage? Someone Didn’t Think That Chemical Formula Through…
Image source: kalitarios
#27 Slip And You’ll Break Your Neck Going To The Basement To Do Laundry At My Apartment Building
Image source: Rargmas
#28 Missed Opportunity For Using The Jesus Statue As “T” Rather Than “I”, Which Would Be More Readable And Intuitive
Image source: furbz1
#29 From A Baseball Stadium That Took 1.2 Billion Nt Dollars To Build, This Sure Exceeds The Expectations
Image source: hofong159
#30 Chilled Juice & Kids
Image source: shaquille_oatmeal911
#31 Parcours For Wheelchairs…
Image source: FireIceWizard
#32 Was Hit In The Ass Taking A Leak
Image source: KingNeptune767
#33 At First Glance I Thought The Can Was Badly Rusted. Turns Out It’s Part Of The Graphic
Image source: RespectMyAuthoriteh
#34 The Best People Are Who People To Eat
Image source: annaanzi
#35 Dont Mess With Chile 🇨🇱
Image source: wotwud
#36 R Is For ?
Image source: scstraus
#37 Photoshop vs. Reality?
Image source: misswooster22
#38 The Almost Never Ending Airport Directional Sign.
Image source: TrevorAlan
#39 “No Farting On Pregnant Women”
Image source: brhiebner
#40 Absolutely Beautiful Architecture Of The Place I Had To Piss In
Image source: Bettingflea95
#41 The Cup That Nibbles Your Lip With Its Little Teethies
Image source: SmolTownGurl
#42 This Is Death Waiting To Happen
Image source: hofong159
#43 God Is Goo.
Image source: tigho
#44 We Have To Decode What The Shirt Says
Image source: Insomnicwriter
#45 Uh… Fearsome? Roarsome? Rfarsome?
Image source: king_27
#46 Interior Design Of This Bus
Image source: Ehansaja
#47 It Just Looks Depressed
Image source: GeneralJAW
#48 I Think It’s Trying To Say Dumbo
Image source: comfychair_4444
#49 Don’t Smoke The Propane!
Image source: Adorable-Display-676
#50 Happy Birthday Ha
Image source: fliberdy
#51 Absolutely Beautiful Architecture Of The Place I Had To Piss In
#52 This Is In Our Hotel Room. Sunshine?
#53 This Alien Looks Like Its Vomiting
#54 Can I Park Or Not?
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