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The debate on whether a design is good or bad is a never-ending one. From terrible public space "solutions" to ideas so bad, it’s hard to believe someone came up with them, we've covered plenty of the latter over the years. So how about we balance out the scales a little bit?

There’s nothing more satisfying than stumbling upon designs that are so visually pleasing, it's almost healing. Here’s where the Instagram account called Design Therapy comes in. It is dedicated entirely to exploring innovation in design, from architecture and interior to furniture and product.

Some of these ideas can be observed in real life, others exist only as a sketch on paper. However, they prove that being a designer can sometimes feel a lot like being a therapist. Bored Panda combed through this treasure trove of inspiration, handpicked some of the best examples, and put them all in one place for you to enjoy. So continue scrolling and share your thoughts with us in the comments!

More info: Instagram

#2

Nello & Patrasche Sculpture Designed By Batist Vermeulen⁣⁠

Nello & Patrasche Sculpture Designed By Batist Vermeulen⁣⁠

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If there’s one thing we know for certain, no one was born a designer. That's why sometimes people need a bit of help to become better in this field. We're talking about the little reminders and daily inspirations like the ones you see in this list to keep those creative ideas flowing. With 236K followers and counting, the Design Therapy online project collects pictures from all over Instagram to show off the charming side of design. From aesthetic buildings and clever packaging to mesmerizing furniture and unique sculptures, it has something for every taste.

Design Therapy is a new startup based in Istambul, Turkey. The founders of this project aim to explore "the innovative designs across the cosmos in the fields of product, interior, architecture, and technology." Many things make the world go round, but new creations drive it forward, and that’s why so many people keep on looking for solutions to both simple and complicated issues to improve our quality of life.

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#6

Bernie Sanders Crochetlove By Tobeytimecrochet

Bernie Sanders Crochetlove By Tobeytimecrochet

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But this begs the question, what does innovation in design really mean? Phil McKinney, author of Beyond the Obvious, a book on innovation and creativity, explained that it "is the utilization of a designer’s methods and sensibility to address the needs of the consumer. … Basically, the goal is to solve more complex problems with the methodology of a designer."

The tricky part is that many people miss what design actually is. "The biggest misconception is that design is simply what a product or service looks like. In actuality, design is how (and why) the product or service functions. It is the process of taking an idea and making it tangible and useful," McKinney wrote.

#7

Hand-Tufted Rug Designed By Vanessa Barragao Vanessabarragao_work

Hand-Tufted Rug Designed By Vanessa Barragao Vanessabarragao_work

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Carissa McFarland
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's really cool but my husband would face plant constantly trying to walk on it.

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iblowsheep
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

within 10 minutes of putting this in my house, my cat would hack a hairball on it.

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Tambot
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Extremely beautiful piece of art. Of course, no one could really have it in their house, there would be goldfish crackers all up in there, and my dog would think the outdoors are in, and relieve himself all over it!

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Mary Lou
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Given the assumed price tag and the space needed to display it, people who buy it are probably able to pay someone to specifically take care of that rug...

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Caro Caro
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

WOW. The skill, time and artistry is fantastic. This is, I hope in a museum.

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Lindsey
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would trip ALL the time. This is beautiful but definitely not a practical rug. I would LOVE to hang one on my wall though.

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OWEN CASH
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Looks like a fungus that's been growing on a dish in the back of the refrigerator.

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Arcade Fire_Fan
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ITS WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED. When I’m drunk I walk on it and have a panic attack thinking mold and stuff is growing on my floor! (All jokes aside it is a beautiful piece)

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Crystal Diaz
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

👀unbelievable talent 😍 I aspire to *someday* own something so wondrous

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Wend kirk
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great for tripping over and vacuuming but visually beautiful

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Anjelika
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So beautiful I'll feel bad walking on it or a target for hairballs

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KT
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Her work is stunning. Wish I had the funds to get one for my kids play room

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Lara Verne
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful, but my cat would turn it into her scratching rug, I know it.

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TyrantrumGogoat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay this is absolutely dreamy! I love these! That looks so comfortable!!

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CPB
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Impractical and dangerous. Not good design by any means.

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Viv Hart
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful, but not as a rug, have it in the playroom, kids can play in it, so will your cats & dogs!

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Tina Harnish
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Anybody with a pet just KNOWS that it's the perfect rug. You can lie on it to read and have the furballs play nearby. Heavenly.

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Nazda Pokmov
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I latch hooked a wool rug 5X8 and it took me forever. This lady must have spent months on this rug

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GramDB
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So beautiful!! I want to put it on my wall … it's a trip hazard on the floor.

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Ginny Swart
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

beautiful piece of work, but a rug? No! it would be a crime to walk on it. Hang it on the wall.

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Sheryl Garza
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s Beautiful! I can trip over nothing………I’d surely trip on that!

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Dorothy Cloud
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful, but I wouldn't want one. Too difficult for me to keep clean.

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Nikki Leniece
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Beautiful beautiful but Walking on a regular flat ground/rug is dangerous enough as is

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Louise Stange-Wahl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am speechless and that hardly ever happens! Kind of an aerial view. I wonder how many hours went into this masterpiece!

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Bunzilla
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Absolutely gorgeous, but I think I'd want to hang it on the wall rather than on the floor. Can't imagine trying to clean it!

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Lizz R
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lemme just pick my jaw up off the floor real quick😲

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OHJeans
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Would never, never put this on the floor, unless it was in a roped-off area of a museum. It would be gorgeous hanging on a large wall, maybe at the Cargill corporate HQ.

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#8

Villa Saraceni Scala Dei Turchi Designed By Creamatelier And Charlottetaylr

Villa Saraceni Scala Dei Turchi Designed By Creamatelier And Charlottetaylr

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#9

Spectrums Of Light Thread Installations By Gabrieldawe

Spectrums Of Light Thread Installations By Gabrieldawe

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Pamda Panda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is an art museum in DC! I saw that installation a few years ago. It's 10x more beautiful in real life!

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You see, one of the fundamental steps of thinking of and creating new ideas in design is engagement with consumers. According to McKinney, "prototypes are created, and then tested, and then refined. It is essential to do this because it minimizes the risk of product or service failure." We, the end-users, experience a product only after it's produced and often don't realize how much effort designers put into making it. But even when they believe they have it all figured out, the outcome could still be rather unfortunate. We humans are susceptible to biases that affect our ability to solve problems accurately, so we are prone to error whether we like it or not.

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#11

Inspired By The Traditional Style Of Ming Dynasty, They Are Made Of Porcelain

Inspired By The Traditional Style Of Ming Dynasty, They Are Made Of Porcelain

design.therapyy Report

Bored Panda earlier had a chat with Jonathan Shariat, a designer and co-author of Tragic Design: The Impact of Bad Product Design and How to Fix It, about how certain solutions can affect peoples’ lives. "Design is the decisions made about how someone will use and experience the things we make, sometimes we fail to think through the implications of those decisions and it ends up causing harm to others," he said.

Making something that has a purpose and is delightful to interact with takes a lot of learning and experience. Shariat argued that creating good design isn’t that easy. It "requires us to think about and understand others. That doesn't come naturally for most of us but always makes things better."

#13

Mini Architectural Sculpture By Matthew Simmonds⁠

Mini Architectural Sculpture By Matthew Simmonds⁠

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#14

Disco Ball Design By Rotganzen

Disco Ball Design By Rotganzen

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#16

Eye Pod Designed By Rainbowkimono

Eye Pod Designed By Rainbowkimono

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"We rely on design every day for critical things, and sometimes they fail us and people get hurt, or it causes major financial damage," he added. These slip-ups often happen because creators have a hard time seeing things from other people's perspectives. "Different people can experience the same thing much differently. It's the job of a designer to understand their users and find what works best for all of them."

#17

Street Bin Concept By Moonjoo Jo From Dongseo Unversity!

Street Bin Concept By Moonjoo Jo From Dongseo Unversity!

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#18

Stained Glass Windows Designed By Harris Armstrong

Stained Glass Windows Designed By Harris Armstrong

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Hannah Edwards
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This would be the only time that I’d like to see a white interior

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When it comes to design, we usually want it to make us feel safe and at ease. Looking at these aesthetic pictures alone makes us feel calm, but imagine how therapeutic it would be to see them as real-life examples. It turns out that there are instances where the design of a space can actually impact our behavior. Kijeong Jeon, a professor of interior architecture at California State University, Chico, is one of the pioneers of using the built environment as therapy.

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He creates multi-sensory settings to help people with autism by using design as therapy. It all began when he was asked to help pick out a carpet for a program for people with autism and other mental disabilities. The professor requested some time to learn about autism to know more about the people he was choosing the carpet for.

#21

From Trash To Shirts By Kastlfel

From Trash To Shirts By Kastlfel

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Mazer
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just don’t get too close to an open flame on the stuff. Our First responders went through a special class on burns involving plastic clothing

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#22

Periodic Table With Real Elements

Periodic Table With Real Elements

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"During the study of autism, I noticed that some of the symptoms are related to tactility, lighting, sound, smell. I realized that all of them deal with the environment. So I thought if those are environmental issues, I can do something for them — I can design certain interior spaces to make them feel at ease. Certain types of colors, certain types of lighting," he told Healthy Building Science.

Hopefully, accounts like Design Therapy will only help to spread the word about linking buildings with design and emotional well-being even further. And if you have any examples to share, don't be shy and post them with #DesignTherapy to get featured!

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#23

The Round Gardens Designed By Carl Theodor Sorensen

The Round Gardens Designed By Carl Theodor Sorensen

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Hannah Edwards
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love them, there is something so organic about curves. It does illustrate how wasteful circles are for space though.

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#26

Cabinet Design By Caleb Woodard Furniture

Cabinet Design By Caleb Woodard Furniture

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AzKhaleesi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

stupid question... how do you open it? the ridges don't look deep enough to grasp.

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#28

Bus Design By Surrealhk

Bus Design By Surrealhk

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UncleRussian
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hmmmm... I hope there's a door there, otherwise I feel someone will be dumb enough to ride it while the bus is moving

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#29

Fold Down Ironing Board Closet/ Mirror By Nils Wodzak!

Fold Down Ironing Board Closet/ Mirror By Nils Wodzak!

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#33

Reading Light By Richard_malachowski_designer

Reading Light By Richard_malachowski_designer

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Mahayana
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And there goes rolling away my lamp!! I’m kidding. It’s beautiful!

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#34

Ewiger Lauf Is A Lighting Installation Created By Rolf Sachs

Ewiger Lauf Is A Lighting Installation Created By Rolf Sachs

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#35

Incredible Needle Paints By Chromato_mania

Incredible Needle Paints By Chromato_mania

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AzKhaleesi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good Lord I need sleep I legit thought that was farm land from the air that the farmer designed a wall around to look like a needle point.... so well done!

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#37

Stacked Containers By Cargotecture

Stacked Containers By Cargotecture

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#38

Dog House Concept By Bobby_ricci

Dog House Concept By Bobby_ricci

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K- THULU
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A cat would just sit in the box it came in! And look at you like you're an idiot!

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#40

Setae 3D Printed Flatware By Francis Bitonti

Setae 3D Printed Flatware By Francis Bitonti

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Zoe's Mom
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe we've seen these here before but they were titled Elven Dinnerware. They are beautiful but wonder how comfortable are they to use.

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#44

Pegasus Grand Piano By Schimmel

Pegasus Grand Piano By Schimmel

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PjandBolt
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It looks like what someone in the 50's would think a piano would look like in the future

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#45

Street Art Installation Designed By Nos_architecture

Street Art Installation Designed By Nos_architecture

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#46

The Retro Classic Collection From Aziocorp Combines Genuine Materials And Innovative Technology In A Vintage-Inspired Form To Inspire Your Everyday Tasks

The Retro Classic Collection From Aziocorp Combines Genuine Materials And Innovative Technology In A Vintage-Inspired Form To Inspire Your Everyday Tasks

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#48

Architectural Installation At Balticgateshead⁠ Designed By Daniel Buren

Architectural Installation At Balticgateshead⁠ Designed By Daniel Buren

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#50

Porcelain Sculptures Designed By Johnson_tsang_artist

Porcelain Sculptures Designed By Johnson_tsang_artist

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Note: this post originally had 112 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.