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50 Times People Had Brilliant Design Ideas
According to Tim Antoniuk, an Associate Professor of Design Studies at the University of Alberta, we can all intuitively sense what good design is and isn't.
"Quite often, this relates to ergonomics and the usability or functionality of the products and services and systems," he told Bored Panda in one interview.
For Antoniuk, good design is "intuitive, [...] deeply sympathetic and empathetic to the user at all levels, and at some level, it is emotional."
So as much as we at Bored Panda like to make fun of crappy design, this time we decided to compile a different kind of list. Whether it's a space-saving Tetris cat tower or a skatepark shaped like bacon and eggs, continue scrolling and check out these prime examples of human ingenuity.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Carpet Patterned Street
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#2
Itsukushima Shinto Shrine Appears On The Dish When Sauce Is Poured On It
Back in the late 1970s, Dieter Rams, a German industrial designer, was becoming increasingly concerned by the state of the world around him. He called it "an impenetrable confusion of forms, colors, and noises."
Realizing that he was a significant contributor to that world, Rams asked himself an important question: is my design good design?
His answer is expressed in his ten principles for good design.
#3
This College Made A Water Bottle With A Map Of The Campus On It. It Also Shows Places Where You Can Fill It Up
engineer_nope.avi 4 years ago
That's a really neat idea! That way we wouldn't get too lost in the college
#4
This Benjamin Franklin Mug I Just Got With A Slot To Make The End Of Your Tea Bag The Kite
1. Good design is innovative. Technological development is constantly offering new opportunities for innovative design; innovative design always develops in tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.
2. Good design makes a product useful. People buy products to use them. It has to satisfy certain criteria, it has to emphasize the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding things that could lessen it.
3. Good design is aesthetic. The beauty of a product is integral to its usefulness because the products we use every day affect us and our well-being. A product can't be well-executed if it is not beautiful.
#5
The Bollards Outside This School In Dublin Look Like Pencils
#6
A Skate Shop & A Butcher Shop Are Located Next To Each Other. They Share One Sign
4. Good design makes a product understandable; it clarifies the product's structure. Better still, it can make the product "talk." If a product is designed flawlessly, it is pretty much self-explanatory.
5. Good design is unobtrusive. Products fulfill a purpose. They're like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, leaving room for the user's self-expression.
6. Good design is honest. It does not try to manipulate the consumer; it doesn't promise what it can't deliver.
7. Good design is long-lasting. It avoids fashion trends so therefore it never appears like an antique from the middle ages. Unlike fashionable design, good design lasts many years – even in today's fast-paced world.
#7
The Logo On My Umbrella Only Shows Up When Wet
#8
This Is Beautiful
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail. Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance: care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the user.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.
10. Good design is as little design as possible. You've heard it a thousand times, less is better. As cliché as it sounds, Dieter Rams believes it to be true. Good design concentrates on the essentials and does not place unnecessary burdens on the product.
Do you think Rams would like this list? Tell us in the comments!
#9
This Crane Has Giraffe Print
#10
This Bench That Looks Like A Book
engineer_nope.avi 4 years ago (edited)
I'm curious on what the text says tbh, but I guess I'll read on it later.
#11
My Friend's House Key Is Shaped Like A Sword
#12
My Raincoat Reveals A Floral Pattern When Wet
#13
The Inside Of The Pizza Box Was A Tuxedo
#14
This Bench Is Made From A Curled-Up Paving Stone
Nicky Hargrave 4 years ago
This is actually Newcastle upon Tyne outside the Laing Art Gallery. I've sat on that bench and can confirm that it is not very comfortable.
#15
This Barbie Doll With Vitiligo
Tiny Dancer 4 years ago
Great to see! Yeah, Barbie has been diversifying for quite some time now. Barbies-60...0db003.jpg 
#16
National Geographic Gallery Uses Its Logo As A Door Handle
engineer_nope.avi 4 years ago
It looks like they know how to handle things, including their building
#17
I Have A Clock Where The Numbers Rotate Rather Than The Hands
#18
My Space-Saving Cat Tower
#19
This Brand Of Coffee Changes The Design For Decaffeinated Coffee
#20
Astronomical Makeup Palette
#21
The Air Vents On A Subway In Stockholm Have A Hidden Pacman Easter Egg
#22
This Swiss Bottled Water
#23
My Husband’s Fully Reflective Iridescent Rain Set
#24
The Wolf On This Van Has Eyes Which Light Up With The Brake Lights
#25
This Whale Tissue Dispenser
#26
You Can "Light" And "Extinguish" The Flames On The Menorah
#27
A Wet Floor Sign In The Shape Of A Shark Fin
#28
There’s A Skatepark Shaped Like Bacon And Eggs An Hour Out Of Seattle
#29
The Handle To This Knife Shop Door Is Also A Knife
Mihai Mara 4 years ago
Wouldn't want to know how the door handle of the sex shop nearby looks like. :)))
#30
A Bench In The Library Of Alexandria
#31
My Desk Notes Are On A Tiny Shipping Pallet
#32
An Ashtray That Gives A Visual Representation Of The Negative Effects Of Smoking Cigarettes
#33
The Pills Which Help Regulate My Heart Rate Are Shaped Like Hearts
#34
Fork At The Eiffel Tower Is The Eiffel Tower
#35
A Little Crab Pen Holder I Found In Tokyo
#36
This Subway Train Has Clouds On The Ceiling To Look Like The Sky
#37
The Blossoms On My LEGO Bonsai Are Small Frogs
#38
This Jar Is Shaped To Look Like A Ziplock Bag
#39
Here's A Street Lamp That Was Designed To Look Like A Paintbrush
#40
Our Wedding Bands Are Laser Engraved With Each Other's Fingerprint
#41
This Clock With Words Only
#42
Spotted This Amazing Door Stop At Work
#43
This Sugar Cube Shaped Like A Tea Pot
#44
Somebody In My City Is Walking Around With The Prettiest Soles I've Seen So Far
#45
Saw This Awesome Metallica Plate On The Freeway Today
#46
My Local Bakery Has Started Putting BLM On Their Bread
#47
This Lamp With Individual Switches You Can Turn On And Off
#48
This Building In Chicago Has A Map Of The Surrounding Area With Its Own Location Marked
Chyppa Homer 4 years ago
Also, phallic obelisk for scale :D (with glowing balls... whaaahahahaha !)
#49
Cool Tables In Plymouth That Look Like It's Anti-Gravity
Annabeth Chase 4 years ago
I was confused for a second, then I remembered chains don't normally do that
#50
These Bollards Outside A School Shaped Like Pencils
#51
My Train Conductor Stamped My Ticket With A Little Train
#52
These Two Spatulas Came With A Clip To Make Tongs Out Of Them
#53
This Book Bag I Bought At Comic Con Today Glows With Flash Photography
#54
This Unique Wooden Bicycle Frame Design
#55
This Building Looks Like It’s Woven
#56
The Security Hut At The Igloo Factory Is An Igloo Cooler
#57
These Old Ornate Handrails On An Othrewise Nondescript Copenhagen Building
#58
Japanese Book For Children That Includes A Blacklight
#59
I Found This Fibonacci Clock At A Clinic
sofacushionfort 4 years ago
I had a marionette names Fibonaccio. When he lied his nose spiraled out in the golden ratio.
#60
Scissors Shaped Like A Bird
InvincibleRodent 4 years ago
I have one of these in a more brassy color, they're quite common embroidery scissors nowadays! Very cute. (AFAIK they were based on the clamps midwives in the 19th century usually had in their kits, and they were used to stop the bloodflow to the umbilical cord. They're shaped like storks because of that association between storks and childbirth. Tbh I prefer to see them as a crane, personally.)
#61
I Work At A Vet Clinic And One Of Our Orders Had Bubble Wrap In The Shape Of Bones
#62
A Curved Escalator
#63
This Golden Record/Rocket Pizza Cutter
#64
Appropriate Wet Floor Warning
#65
This Inflatable Lock Advertisement On A Storage Building
Jessica Harmon 4 years ago
I passed this hundreds of times on the way to Boston from Cape Cod. Always had to look out for it!
#66
These Ceiling Fan And Light Bulb Chain Pulls In My Best Friends Childhood Home
#67
The Knobs In My Dentist's Office Are Toothbrush And Toothpaste
Billy The Kid 4 years ago
Whenever you need to make an appointment with the dentist, be sure to book it for 2.30 (tooth hurty)
#68
Car Park Barriers At The Estonian National Opera House, Tallinn
#69
The Door Handle To This Butcher Shop
#70
Wooden Puzzle In The Shape Of A Wine Bottle
#71
IKEA Sells A Kit To Build A Chocolate Moose, So Naturally I Bought One
Laura Mende (Human) 4 years ago (edited)
It's called BELÖNING (swedish for reward) NICE!!!! 😂😂😂
#72
My Nintendo Switch Case's Zippers Are Joycons
#73
USB Power Bank Disguised As A Mini Generator
#74
The Ceiling Of LEGO Stores Looks Like The Bottom Of A 3x4 LEGO Brick
#75
WOW Air Has A Vomit-Meter On Their Sick Bags
#76
My Grandparents' Clock Measures Time On A One Week Scale Instead Of A 12 Hour One
#77
Brewtorium In Austin's Bathroom Signs Are Great
#78
My Keyboard’s USB Has A Keyboard On It
#79
There's A Cute Little Excavator Graphic On The Window Of This Excavator
#80
The Tread On My Wife's Shoes Is A Remote Control
Billy The Kid 4 years ago
I can imagine trying to watch the TV and the missus walking back and forth
#81
I’m Making Personalized Coasters Of All My Coworkers’ Brain Scans
#82
My Shirt's Cuff Has Thousands Of Mushrooms Printed On It
#83
My Freezer Produces Ice Spheres Rather Than Ice Cubes
Sonja_kitty 4 years ago
Fun fact: Spherical ice is actually more effective at keeping your drink cold longer, since the drink is exposed to the maximum amount of surface area of ice.
#84
Emirates’ Starry Sky In Their Long-Distance Planes
#85
The Bike Rack At This Dentist Office Looks Like It's Being Squeezed Out Of A Tube Of Toothpaste
Billy The Kid 4 years ago
This is the sort of things we need to see in the streets instead of the ordinary
#86
The Edge Of The Knife In This Swiss Restaurant Was Shaped To Show Off Many Of The Peaks Found In The Swiss Alps
#87
My Coworkers Bamboo Keyboard And Mouse
#88
This Pen From A Technical College That Says How Many Words Can Be Written With It
Yoga Kitty 4 years ago
This would depend on the words used - what if I want to write 130,000 times "Rinderkennzeichnungsfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz"?
#89
My Kid’s Fake Cash Register Has Fake Inputs On The Back
#90
My Spanish Sneakers Have A Map Of Barcelona On The Sole
#91
This Sofa Set Made Out Of Red Bricks
#92
This Three-Way Chess Set I Found In My Basement
#93
Union Jack Taillights For The Mini Are A Pretty Neat Idea For A Car With British Roots
#94
The Drains For The Sinks In The Minneapolis Airport Are Airplanes
#95
A Gelato Shaped Doorstop At A Gelateria In Italy
#96
This All Storage Building Is Shaped Like A Shipping Box
#97
A Really Cool Bookshelf Whose Shelves Spell Something, Seen At A Hotel
#98
The Classic Red Checkered Pattern Of The Tablecloth Of This Restaurant Is Made Of QR Codes For Their Menu
#99
This Ping Pong Halfpipe I Saw At A Hotel In Munich
#100
This Coffee Cup From A Paris-Themed Cafe Chain In Seoul
Daria B 4 years ago
Actually, the name is Paris Baguette and it's very famous. I heard it eventually opened in France too, but it's a Korean brand.
Load More Replies...
Daphne Williams 4 years ago
So weird. Imagine if a French brand sold Korean food with Korean stereotypes.
#101
The Rubbish Bins At The Pyramids Of Giza Have Hieroglyphic Instructions
#102
A Worker In My Factory Has A Cowboy Hat That Doubles As A Hard Hat
Truthsayer 4 years ago
That’s actually dangerous. Hard Hats are round in order to deflect objects away from tge head. A falling object on this could wrench the head to one side and result in a broken neck…
#103
My Coworker Has Humerus Looking Glasses
#104
The Opening Of My Toothpaste Is In The Shape Of A Tooth
#105
These Bowling Balls Are Painted Like Pool Balls
#106
The Lights On The Plane From My Trip Back From Australia
#107
This Rubik's Cube That Uses Different Sized Surfaces Instead Of Colors
#108
This Radio I Found In My Attic Is Built To Resemble A Coca-Cola Vending Machine
#109
These Rainbowless Skittles
Sonja_kitty 4 years ago
Fun fact: Skittles made these after getting homophobic reviews about skittles being a rainbow (gay), so they made these to get back at/prove those people wrong.
#110
This USB Stick That I Received From Olive Garden Looks Like Garlic Bread
#111
I Got A Package In The Mail Today And The Bubble Wrap Was Heart-Shaped
#112
These Burger Seats
#113
This Grocery Display Contains Both Watermelon And Watermelon Cakes
#114
My Dad Has A Cap With A Solar-Powered Fan On It
#115
My Dustpan Brush Is A Violin
#116
This Oil And Vinegar Container In An Italian Restaurant
Elena Ktmr 4 years ago
It is so common in Italy and Greece. You can get one in any tourist shop.
#117
My Work Got A Whole Roll Of The New 2020 “Bat” Quarters
max martin (they/them) 4 years ago (edited)
they're adorable! we have one. although, my family thought it was funny timing that they had a bat for 2020, because of the pandemic
#118
Metal Benches In Buenos Aires Look Very Soft
#119
This Book About Radiation Has A Glow-In-The-Dark Dust Jacket
#120
These Chairs At My Hotel In Munich Spell Out "Hello"
#121
I Own A Plexiglass Longboard
#122
The Bohemian Rhapsody Movie Disc Looks Like A Record
M O'Connell 4 years ago
That definitely looks like it would go in my Fisher Price phonograph. s-l16002-6...de2e68.jpg 
#123
My Grandma Has A Radio That Looks Like An Old Computer
Maisha Mir 4 years ago
omg I had one but instead of a keyboard, it had a tiny mouse 😩 Actually my dad's but I claimed it as a 5 year old 😂
#124
My Headphones Measures Their Size By Afro Size
#125
My Guinness Came With A Picture Of The Queen On It
#126
I Got A Keychain That Uses The Radioactive Decay Of Tritium (The Radioactive Isotope Of Hydrogen) To Emit Light
#127
The Way This Coffee Cup Looks Sad Until You Open It, Then It Looks Happy
#128
A Pen That Looks Like A Small Baguette When The Lid Is On
#129
The Footrest In This Jeep Says “Sand Snow Rivers Rocks” In Morse Code
#130
The Restaurant I’m Eating At Provides A Pill That Turns Into A Towel When Soaked In Water
#131
I Found A Set Of Circular Playing Cards
#132
This Side Table Designed Specifically For These Books
Steve Barnett 4 years ago
Book Tetris. But they all keep disappearing when you put that one book back.
#133
My Friend’s New Surfboard Was Made To Look Like A Baguette
#134
This Dog Pattern On The Seats At Our Local Veterinarians Office
#135
The Seats At Carnegie Mellon University Have Zeroes And Ones Stitched Into Them
#136
My Dad Has A 100 Sided Die
#137
This Cigarette Butt Collector That Looks Like A Used Cigarette
#138
My House Key Is In The Shape Of A House
#139
My Coasters Are Tiny Pallets
#140
The Grip On The PS5 Controllers Are Made Up Of The Symbols On The Buttons, Just Really Small
#141
This Wooden Tie I’m Wearing As A Groomsman
#143
The Way This Tea Cafe Cans Beverages To Go
#144
Found My Old Gameboy And Its Case (Which Was A Giant Gameboy) While Cleaning My Room
#145
This Dark Toilet Paper At My Friend's Bathroom
#146
My Old Shoes Have Keyboard On The Bottom
#147
IKEA Are Selling Self Assembly Chocolate Bunnies For Easter
#148
This Watch Has Disks Instead Of Hands
#149
This Rubik's Cube Safe That I Have. You Have To Line The Colors Up In A Certain Order To Unlock It
#150
This Reflective Jacket That Completely Lights Up When You Take A Photo Of It With Flash
Chris Kane 4 years ago
You'll find that very high end designers make "anti-pap" scarfs that light up really bright when a camera flashes them, basically ruining the photo. They make these so celebrities can wear them to avoid paparazzi's.
#151
The Way The Wafers Line Up Going From Box To Box
#152
My Ice Cream Sandwich Has A Comic Strip On It
#153
Alaska Airlines Giving Out Water In Paper Cartons Rather Then Plastic Bottles
Beuska 4 years ago
Im not sure this is more eco friendly... It contains painting, some kind of also plastic cover (or layer) inside and outside that keeps the water away from paper, otherwise the box would not last too long, some glue, and plus the pastic opener.. the idea is good, but I think (and this is just an opinion) the overall production is less eco friendly.
#154
This Collection Of Mystery Science Theater 3000 VHS Tapes Creates An Image When Put Together
#155
Buttons & Buttonholes On Blouse
#157
This Playable CD In The Shape Of A Square
#158
This Tiny Star In A New Train In Stockholm
#159
Hotel I Stayed At Had Black Toilet Paper
Karin Gibson 4 years ago
Ok it doesn't matter what colour the loo paper is It just matters that there is some there. I Eastern Europe it is a really boring taupe colour.
#160
A Mug In The Design Of A Dented Plastic Cup
#161
This Crane Is Painted Like A Giraffe
#162
I Have A Real Pizza Epoxy Doorstop
#163
This Ashtray Which Looks Like A Snubbed Out Cigarette
S P A C E S A R E C O O L 4 years ago
lol someone found the exact same one as a previous post :P
#164
This Hair Dryer Designed To Look Like A Revolver
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What do you think ?
Arthur Waite 4 years ago
Do you ever wonder about the number of readers who don't read the comments before posting theirs? And repeat someone's ideas? And repeat...
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
Arthur, they're copied and pasted from Reddit posts. Sometimes multiple different ones. Bored Panda only have few articles where people directly post stuff. They don't really care if they duplicate things. The site is to get clicks and sell advertising.
Load More Replies... Blue of the yams 4 years ago
I'm the first one here an I am incredible pleased with this list.
Sheepeggs 4 years ago
You were not the first one here, you were the first one to comment
Load More Replies...
Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago
I loved all these except one. Amazing how some people's minds work!!!
Arthur Waite 4 years ago
Do you ever wonder about the number of readers who don't read the comments before posting theirs? And repeat someone's ideas? And repeat...
Wandaluzt 4 years ago
Arthur, they're copied and pasted from Reddit posts. Sometimes multiple different ones. Bored Panda only have few articles where people directly post stuff. They don't really care if they duplicate things. The site is to get clicks and sell advertising.
Load More Replies... Blue of the yams 4 years ago
I'm the first one here an I am incredible pleased with this list.
Sheepeggs 4 years ago
You were not the first one here, you were the first one to comment
Load More Replies... Dorothy Cloud 4 years ago
I loved all these except one. Amazing how some people's minds work!!!
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