There’s a fine line between designs that are jaw-droppingly original and ones that are truly awful. Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to lean heavily on the latter side of the line, so the world’s filled with design atrocities that will make you cringe. So bad they’re good? Nah. So bad they’re the worst.
The Crappy Design subreddit with more than 2.3 million members is home to the worst designs ever and we bring you the newest ones to scare your artistic friends with. Even if you know next to nothing about good design, you’ll intuitively shy away from some of these design choices. Scroll down, upvote your fave crappy designs, and let us know in the comments which ones you loved to hate the most.
When you’re done, have a look through Bored Panda’s earlier posts about the Crappy Design community here, here, and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
2 Butts 1 Plant
A Scene From An Indian TV Show
I mean to be honest this looks close enough. It's a movie, unless there are doctors watching nobody will know the difference
Previously, Bored Panda spoke to the Crappy Design moderators to learn more about their community.
“The original motivation for the subreddit was to point out crappy designs. Nowadays, most subscribers probably come here for entertainment,” the moderators told us that a part of their followers is there just to have fun and gawk at truly ugly design decisions.
“However, it is common to have meaningful discussion here on why or why not something is crappy design,” they pointed out that some of the members actively participate in in-depth chats.
Idk I'm European
This Captain Of The Submarine In My English Book
That's Not How It Works
Founded back in 2011, the community has flourished over its 9-and-a-half-year existence. Just a year ago, the Crappy Design subreddit had 1.7 million members and got more than 2 million page views each month. Those are huge numbers to be fair. However, since then, the sub has gained an additional half a million new followers.
But let’s hop back to what makes product designs good or bad. For instance, researcher Don Norman writes in his book ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ that good design is upfront and honest about what the thing does. No hidden purposes for Norman!
At the same time, he says that designs have to look beautiful and uncluttered while pushing the boundaries of what a particular object means to us. So we have to be innovative but simple while avoiding clutter and mediocrity. Quite a challenge, wouldn’t you think? No wonder there are so many bad designs out there.
They Said You Will Be In The Front Page, But Didn't Mention What The Title Of Next Article Going To Be
People Wearing Face Masks Looking Like Monsters
Meanwhile, the Interaction Design Foundation stresses that bad designs are often overloaded with useless info and make us waste time to figure out what the thing does and how it works.
So if you’re designing something, make it as intuitive and simple as possible—after all, you wouldn’t want to create something messy that’s bound to end up on the Crappy Design subreddit, would you?
They Stopped Construction On The New Burger King In My Hometown Because The Building Is Backwards. They Put A Whole Building Up Backwards!
Black One Is Salt, White One Pepper
This Isn't Even My Final Form
Welcome To “The Cut” Forest Recreation Area. This Font Threw Me For A Loop. Delete If Not Allowed.
Hiding Money Inside Something That Could Easily Wind Up In The Fireplace
We Cut Kids
Stay Home!
This Bath Bomb's Final Color
Social “Distancing”
This Graph
I Can't Read The Article About Pointless Monthly Subscriptions Without Buying A Monthly Subscription
Wow! What A Bargain!
Blobfish Supra
I’m Having An Aneurysm Just Looking At This
Accidental Venn Diagram
What's The Worst That Could Happen?
Finally A Deal That Suits My Acquired Taste
No Broken Legs I Know Of
In many countries local building codes would outlaw something like this.
We Don't Need That Corner, I Guess...
Can Someone Tell Me What This Jacket Is Actually Made Of?
Complex Oral Care
This "Muddy Waters" Poop Dress I Found On Depop
In Turkey, We Have Footpaths With Embossed Yellow Tiles To Help Blind People.
The tiles have raised dots on them that the person can feel while walking on them , the fact they are yellow is simply for the sighted to know they are there and not to park on them.
The irony is that they are placed wrong (one path goes through a bus stop) not that they are yellow.
Load More Replies...That is a good idea without all of the obstacles in the way
That's sad. But it happens in.the UK, too. Also with marked cycle paths!
Yeah, we've got head-level signposts put right across the cycle paths in my home town!
Load More Replies...yes. after dinasours armenians greeks americans germans georgians russians reptilians greys we decided to genocide blinds as well
Load More Replies...When feel-good laws collide with reality, who suffers? The legislator, never.
Was a good idea sad first has been built over and ran over like that!
I mean, it's obviously a different texture. And maybe the yellow is helpful for people without complete vision loss.
oh i just thought about the parts on the road that make ur car go BRRRRRRRR
Aren’t they serving to signal where the road is? Like they’re all two feet away from the road? That sounds how it is here.
So why don't people get fined for obstructing? What's the point if there is no incentive to not obstruct?
But the blind path is textured noticeably different from the common path so that makes sense.
follow the yellow brick road...follow the yellow brick road...follow the yellow brick road...right into a wall...
We have those here in the UK, But they denote Crossing points to show where its safe to cross.
They have these in Australia thankfully nobody can park on it haha
Very common in India... We also have the ones leading to open potholes
Very common in India too. We also have ones leading to open potholes
Holy funk! You know, I've seen things like that here in Scotland too! I'm gonna have to check them out properly now! I am still amazed at witnessing a guide dog pooping! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I'd never have believed it! It stood over a drain grate at the side of the road and pooped there! But it actually managed to poop THROUGH the gaps! I swear, it was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen! Before that, I had no clue how a blind person and their dog actually dealt with that! Never even crossed my mind! Amazing!
"Ambulans" is how it's spelled in Turkey ... you know ... where the pictures were taken. 🙄
Load More Replies..."Excellent, now our evil plan to decrease the blind population is in full effect!"
Almost Perfect
If those windows were centred on that fairly ugly building it would cease to be art and look like a prison.
No Entry, Entrance Only
I Mean, Of All The Design Choices, You Chose This
Ok... this is either to discourage clients to use the toilets so that you don't have to spend money cleaning them, either to not spend money cleaning the toilets because the clients won't see the difference.
These Bathroom Stalls
The see through glass is bad but what about the lack of space for your legs... and other parts of the body... like face. It will be sooo close... most likely pushed against the glass.
A Leaflet I Found In Work
Every Day I Am Thankful To Live In The Land Of The Because Of The Brave USA Free
Enjoy A Nice Massage In A Moving Car With Your Eyes Closed
You Had Me At Hell!
Went To The Park To Shoot Some Hoops Today...
A Solar-Powered Streetlight Under A Bridge In Hong Kong
A Photo With Keanu Reeves
This $4 Swan Pool Float From The Dollar Store
I Thought She Peed Herself For A Sec
You Thought Tide Pods Looked Like Candy.
The Braille On The "Alarm" And "Stop" Button On This Bus Are The Same
In all fairness, doesn't really matter which one you push, the driver will stop.
This Unnecessarily Zig-Zag’d Sidewalk
Because Why Pave The Actual Pathway
This Ad Bomb That’s Guaranteed To Wake Up My Baby
just install "ublock origin" browser extension and almost all ads on the internet will be blocked including youtube...
What Step?
Laughing At You After Rejecting Your Insurance Application
Blursed_frame
Fine Fart
This Harry Potter Dvd Collection
Wut You Calling Me?
This Pie Chart My School Showed On Their Reopening Presentation.
Who Thought That Silver Text On Yellow Packaging Was A Good Idea? I Guess Its A Mystery Serum!
Lack of basic colour theory. Classic case of someone setting them themselves up as a "Designer" when they have no education in that area at all!
Thats Not Where Teeth Go
This "Dolphin" Is Still Haunting Me
This Company That Didn't Bother Purchasing A Photo From Shutterstock For Their Billboard
This Makes Me Sad And Angry At The Same Time
I love it! I can't wait to watch people trying to use these. It'll be so entertaining :p
I Mean, It’s Good While It’s Turned Off Right?
Would You Like Your Chips With Or Without Chips?
Apparently Nothing Anymore...
Blursed_perfecto
This Colon Cleanse Ad Is So Bad It's Hilarious
Someone Chose The Wrong Colors On My Boardroom Doors At Work
I feel like this was made by the same people who did black salt and white pepper.
This Intentional Design On This Hoodie.
Not Enough Clean Air In My Convertible.
Supposed To Be Lazy Shiba Inu Being Pulled On A Leash But The Execution Is Unexpectedly Morbid...
A Plastic Vent For An Industrial Strength Heater
This Seemed To Belong Here. A Rental Car That Depends On You Having Cell Data To Be Able To Run.
Today My Mom Hit Her Toe With This And Was Bleeding.. I Hate This Kitchen So Much
Pulling Into This Car Park Requires You To Keep Right (In A Country That Keeps Left), Then To Resolve It They Do This...
How Many People Did The Names For These Colors Go By That All Decided This Was A Good Name
Literally the only time it's OK to say, "Hey, my flesh light broke, can I borrow yours for a bit?"
Why'd They Make It Look So Fun Then??
Look At The Volume Button
Yeah but would you want to touch it anyway, given how dirty it is? All those skin cells and dust all over it. 🤢
Who Showers Like This?
Highlighted The Bad Part Of Family
Moldova Is Feeling Very Thankful For All The Help Received From China In Battling The Coronavirus
When It Rains Too Hard, The Water Pours Down Over The Sheltered Pathway
This Light Is Impossible To Clean And Ugly As Hell
The "Kitten" Is The Same Picture But Scaled Down And Mirrored
I'm Impressed That This Thai Menu Has Text Cropping Both Over And Under The Image.
Something's Not Right With The Sign On Front
So, Which States Are Affected?
A Pie Chart Out Of 178%
Measuring Spoons & Cups Labeled With Ink That Washes Off The First Time They Come In Contact With Water.
Math Will Take You Places, But Not Mongolia.
Looks Like Wish Sells Squat Stands Designed By M. C. Escher
My Socks That Always Look Like They're Soaked In Sweat
Can’t Wait To Break My Shins While Out For A Ride!
But contradictory to what most bicyclists believe, the pavement is for pedestrians. That's why there are no fire hydrants in the road. So bicyclists won't break their shins on them.
Thanks, I Hate Emoji Scissors
Why Is She Putting The Butter On Her Hand??!
OH MY GOD I did that exact thing once when I was 14 and incredibly stoned. Swear on my life I did LMFAO
Good Family Tree
Just Drag And Drop People Into The Pool
My Football Club Changed The Standard White Lines For Sand And It's Super Annoying Bc The Ball Always Gets Stuck
My City Just Replaced All Their Buses With Brand New Ones. The Stop Button Is Now Located Where You Normally Rest Your Knee. It’s Super Sensitive And People Constantly Hit It By Mistake, So The Driver Has To Stop Although No One Is Getting Off
Coronavirus Restrictions Are Very Generous Now
Haha there's a sign on a local supermarket only 420 at a time... But whose counting
Top Design From My School
The Yellow "For" Gets Lost Among The Big Red Letters
This Chocolate You Can't Properly Break
This IKEA Colander Has A Lip That Curves Inward That Traps Pasta
Ah Yes, My Favorite Food. Hoe NY
I hate it when letters that form words are displaced like that. The brain likes to follow the path of least resistence. Scrabbling everything incoherently is just asking for trouble. For example, about twelve years ago, Fendi had a purse with rearranged letters that read FEDNI. I don't think it was that popular.
This Headphone/Microphone Adapter That Has The Colors Mixed Up. I Wondered For 20 Minutes Why I Couldn’t Get Them To Work Before Realizing
Citroen’s Take On “Limited Edition”
Looks Like Someone Had A Rough Diarrhea
Some God Tier Photoshop
And no, they do not cool your environment. They just add some irritating sound to the heath.
Timberland Boot Sole Is Hollow
(this comment is for SaraOpse) wow, even the link sounds like f****r!
Load More Replies...I've been reading bored panda on and off for years but I've never made an account. I have just made an account to say that you guys really need to delete the inappropriate links that are probably being posted by bots. It's not good enough that they are downvoted so much. Some curious soul can still click on '...view more comments' and they'll copy+paste that link into their browser which probably contains not only naughty adult content but possibly viruses and spyware.
The first one is very obviously meant to deter bikers and skateboarders...but also to give an idiot an outlet for showing how utterly immature he is. He succeeded blisteringly well. The second one--the gardening service's truck---I don't see the problem. It's two hands together holding seedlings, with the shirt sleeves clearly visible above the heels of the hands. Anyone seeing something else isn't focused on the PRODUCT.
All the skincare efforts on my face are gone after laughing my tears off lol
As a Lions Club member I had to share the image of the Turkish blind walkway challenge for the blind. As a Lithuanian/American I am happy to see cool stuff coming from the land of my father.
this reminds me of when the government hired some people to cut some weeds in these planters on public sidewalks - they were overflowing and complained about - but a lot of the cleaning and gardening staff or whatever they are were laid off from COVID so someone came and cut ALL of the grass that was supposed to be there along with the weeds :/ can you tell it wasn't their job?
(this comment is for SaraOpse) wow, even the link sounds like f****r!
Load More Replies...I've been reading bored panda on and off for years but I've never made an account. I have just made an account to say that you guys really need to delete the inappropriate links that are probably being posted by bots. It's not good enough that they are downvoted so much. Some curious soul can still click on '...view more comments' and they'll copy+paste that link into their browser which probably contains not only naughty adult content but possibly viruses and spyware.
The first one is very obviously meant to deter bikers and skateboarders...but also to give an idiot an outlet for showing how utterly immature he is. He succeeded blisteringly well. The second one--the gardening service's truck---I don't see the problem. It's two hands together holding seedlings, with the shirt sleeves clearly visible above the heels of the hands. Anyone seeing something else isn't focused on the PRODUCT.
All the skincare efforts on my face are gone after laughing my tears off lol
As a Lions Club member I had to share the image of the Turkish blind walkway challenge for the blind. As a Lithuanian/American I am happy to see cool stuff coming from the land of my father.
this reminds me of when the government hired some people to cut some weeds in these planters on public sidewalks - they were overflowing and complained about - but a lot of the cleaning and gardening staff or whatever they are were laid off from COVID so someone came and cut ALL of the grass that was supposed to be there along with the weeds :/ can you tell it wasn't their job?