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81 Ridiculous Design Choices That Somehow Got Past Every Meeting, Every Check, And Every Approval
“To err is human, to forgive is divine.” You’ve probably heard this popular quote before, Pandas. After all, we all make mistakes, and nobody gets everything right all the time. But some mistakes are so baffling that you have to wonder what was going through someone’s mind when they made them!
And that’s especially true when it comes to design. A good design can make everyday life so much easier, but a bad one? Well, it can leave you confused, frustrated, or even wondering how anyone thought it was a good idea in the first place. From toilets that seem almost impossible to use to parking lots that make no sense and staircases that look like accidents waiting to happen, these design fails are a whole new level of questionable. We scoured the internet to find some of the most ridiculous examples. Keep scrolling, Pandas, and see which ones leave you scratching your head!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
They Put New Carpet On The Stairs
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#2
These Blocks That Should Say "Fall" But Definitely Say "Fail"
#3
Poor Placement Of A Ad On The Bus
#4
This Horrible Bathroom I Saw At A Burger King In Oregon
#5
There Is Only One Elevator Call Button In This Photo, The Rest Are Just Design Motifs.
Lily bloom 7 hours ago
I'm definitely pressing the three possible "up" options, waiting a reasonable few minutes and then jamming the one nearest the alarm.
#6
I'm Suddenly Getting Dizzy
Did I say that out loud? 6 hours ago
It would definitely mess with my eyes,too, but it's very well done.
#7
This Awful Bread Packaging Design, Which Looks Exactly Like Mould:
#8
And These Refrigerator Settings, Which Have Me Permanently Head-Scratching:
grotesqueer 2 hours ago (edited)
Well at least it's clear which button does what! Mine has just a dial, and it's ambiguous if a higher value means higher temperature or more cooling.
#10
Caution: Bad Design
Hippopotamuses 7 hours ago
I wonder how many people got banged up noses, before the tape was put up?
#11
This Is The Stupidest Design In Parking Lots. Why
#12
Design Fail?
#14
Most Treacherous Bathroom
#15
I'm A Woman, But Even I Can Imagine How Mortifying This Urinal Is:
#16
This Absolutely Chaotic Front Entrance:
#17
These Box Instructions, Which Aren't Nearly Simple Enough To Prevent Issues:
#18
This Elevator, Which Seriously Overestimates People's Ability To Follow Instructions:
Hippopotamuses 6 hours ago
Wouldn't it have been easier to have labelled the button labels themselves?
#19
How Do I Erase This Mistake Of A Design?
#20
Poor Designing
#21
I Genuinely Don't Know What They Were Going For
#22
Paused Mid-Bite When I Saw It (It's Printed On The Plate)
Hippopotamuses 7 hours ago
I've seen this myself - a bit of whimsy. But the, now, intrusive thought can put people off eating the meal.
#23
Who Decided That Material Was A Good Idea?
#24
Someone On Facebook Was Asking For Shower Curtain Advice
#25
I See What You Were Going For But
#26
Am I Supposed To Bike Here?
#27
I Can't Look At It Too Hard
#28
Classic Airbnb Chic
#29
Okay Who Was In Charge Of This?
#30
This "Modern" Staircase, Which Would Cause Countless Injuries To Anyone Who's Clumsy (Me):
#31
This Beautiful Home Sign, Which Could've Used An Edit:
#32
This Hand Sanitizer, Which Genuinely Made Me Scream, "What The Heck?!":
#33
This One, Though? No Idea What They Mean Here:
#34
Person That Design This Needs To Burn In Hell!!!!!!
#35
Dunno About Having Fire As A Petrol/Gas Station Mascot..
random_froggg (she/they 86/47) 7 hours ago
That mascot is wishing someone would burn the place down. Look at its eyes.
#36
I Don't Think You Meant It Like That
#38
Someone Went Crazy On Microsoft Word
#39
I'm No Mathematician, But Something Just Ain't Adding Up Here:
Hippopotamuses 6 hours ago (edited)
I sincerely hope that the UNFPA and World Bank didn't have anything to do with this. If they did, we have serious global problems.
#40
Please, Comment Below And Tell Me What This Car Sticker Was Intending To Say:
#41
I Understand The Intention Here, But I Can Only Imagine How Many Students Made Fun Of This:
Peter Bear 5 hours ago
I mean... the problem is that there's no other E's on the periodic table. I just checked.
#42
2 Locks In A Single Door At Our School... Either Its Bad Design Or The Enterance To The Chamber Of Secrets. We Shall Never Know
#43
Idk How To Feel About This
#44
Bad Design At Sephora
#45
Quite A Fail…
#46
Look Again
#47
Perfect Place For It, Thanks!
#48
What Did The Icon Mean? Itself, Duh!
#49
Having A Printed On 'Sticker' That You Can't Remove Promoting A Movie That Came Out 3 Years Ago On A Book.
#50
Throwing Beach Balls At The Smelly Man
#51
What Are You Trying To Tell Me?
#52
Which Toilet Should Each Gender Go In? Found In The St. Dennis Cathedral In Paris.
#53
This So-Called "Accessible" Parking Space, Which Has A Pretty Major Design Flaw:
#55
This Simple Sign, Which Probably Seemed Innocent In Theory:
#56
I Guess The Person Who Made This Elevator Just Loved The Number 3:
#57
This Sign, Which Truly Makes No Sense To My Tiny Brain:
#58
The Longer You Look, The More You Realize
#59
The World's Best Superhero
#60
We Are Absolutely Done
#61
Accidents Waiting To Happen
#62
Least Comfortable Armrests Ever
Janissary35680 3 hours ago
I think those are more intended to prevent someone from lying down.
#63
Another Unfortunate Line Break
Peter Bear 5 hours ago (edited)
Seagulls, seagulls everywhere, leaving presents in my hair. It gives my scalp a silky feel; who needs sham pōo when you can have real? EDIT: Really, BP? You censor the word that's IN THE PHOTO when I try to type it? There's no place for censorship in a free society. And yes, I will keep doing this.
#64
I'm Firmly Against Qr-Code-Only Menus, But Especially If They Don't Even Work:
#65
This Eye-Drops Bottle, Which Doesn't Actually Say Anywhere That It's Eye Drops:
Elladine DesIsles 3 hours ago
These were sold packaged in a box, which better identified the product, so at least the purpose was clear at the time of purchase (not so bad, considering it's a tiny bottle that most likely said to discard one month after breaking the seal). I believe the labels have since been redesigned.
#66
This Confusing Gift Bag, Which I'd Definitely Hyperfixate On If I Ever Received It:
#67
And I'd Refuse To Eat Off These Plates, As Someone With A Fear Of Hair In My Food:
#68
Awful
#69
This Bowl Design Is Kinda Bad For Eating This Type Of Cheese That It Commonly Serves
grotesqueer 1 hour ago
I don't think any other ridge design would do any better. And the ridges need to be there for structural stability. It allows to use far less plastic without making the container flimsy.
#70
Melbourne Airport Carpet
#72
How Many People Have Run Right Into That?
#73
Which End Of My Car Can I Expect To Be Washed?
#74
Mixed Messages Crazy Style
#75
Love The P Verson
#76
This Local Bank's Logo Looks Like It Reads "In Debt"
#77
This Impossible Word Search For Kids, That Perhaps Aims To Teach Young People A Lesson In Failure:
#79
What Was Wrong With The Original Design???
#80
I'm Skipping To The Bold Part Sorry
grotesqueer 1 hour ago
I don't think that's a design issue. That's a reader issue. There's nothing unclear or ambiguous in this one.
#81
Why Is The Outline Of The Letters Like That?
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