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101 Design Disasters That Had People Wondering, “Who Approved This?”
Good design has a few simple rules: simplicity, clarity, and visual appeal. Some designs, however, fail to execute all of these criteria. Bad design can be disappointing; it can be dull and uninspiring, but when it starts to veer into the realm of the offensive, that’s when you know you have a problem.
Bored Panda has made you a compilation of signs, labels, and other awfully designed objects that might make you say: “Who approved this?” There’s no way such inappropriate designs could’ve made it through a professional’s eyes, yet they did, it seems. Check these out if you’re looking for a few moments to laugh, cringe, and shake your head in ridiculous disbelief.
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#1
I Hope They Have A Room For Good Employees As Well
RELATED:
#2
"We Need To Decorate The Toilet For The Disabled." "Say No More"
#3
Well, My Night Was Almost Ruined
Bad design doesn’t always have to be offensive to be bad. Brands and designers have made some bad decisions over the years, and some blunders have resulted in quite the public shaming. Take the Tropicana rebrand in 2009, for example. The juice brand renewed its packaging to what consumers deemed “bland” and “generic,” resulting in sales dropping by 20% in just two months.
The design wasn’t offensive or bad per se, but it took away something the consumers were used to. “We underestimated the deep emotional bond they had with the original packaging,” the president at Tropicana North America, Mr. Campbell, explained.
#4
…
#5
The Gender Of The Arms Is Super Important
FranSinclair 6 hours ago
Last thing we'd want is one wild lady handing something to another. Have some couth
#6
Great To Know That Both Genders Can Use This Elevator
“What we didn’t get was the passion this very loyal small group of consumers have," Campbell went on. "That wasn’t something that came out in the research. […] Those consumers are very important to us, so we responded.” Tropicana went back to the old design, and the whole ordeal is said to have cost them around $27 million.
GAP had a similar oopsie with their logo back in 2010. The American retailer probably reached some kind of a record for how short their logo was officially changed for — less than a week. Instead of its signature blue square with the white “GAP” inside, the retail giant chose a logo in a Helvetica font and a blue square on the end of the “P.”
#7
“Hope You Brought Urine”
#8
I Really Don't Want To Know What's Under That Sticker
#9
What Brand Of Van Is This?
The idea behind the new logo was to honor the “heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward,” according to the then-president of Gap North America, Marka Hansen. Yet the public disagreed.
“The addition of the blue square seems to be hated on a united front — it just looks cheap, tacky and very dull,” award-winning logo designer Jon Pink told The BBC. “So whilst including some connection of the original logo makes perfect sense in business terms, this illustrates perfectly that logic and reason can play second fiddle to gut instinct.”
#10
For Reasons Unknown, South America Has Completely Been Replaced By Africa
Daisydaisy 20 hours ago
Pretty sure the Sahara Desert doesn't have way more birds than anywhere else
#12
Well, Now That The Floors Are Clean
nut nibbler 20 hours ago
What attatchments does it have, crevice tool, upholstery brush, ball gag?
A more worldwide logo fail was the 2012 London Olympics logo controversy. The logo was supposed to represent a jigsaw puzzle and the year 2012, and its creators, who were paid £400,000 for their work, saw it as dynamic, modern, and flexible. However, the public disagreed. People likened it to a scraggly piece of graffiti vandalism, a mosaic of beer mats, and a “broken” symbol of Hitler’s Germany.
#13
The Sign Says "Teaching Kids Good Manners", But It Looks Like You're Just Yeeting The Baby Into Trash
#14
Well, Uh.... Thanks For The Warning?
#15
The Sign In This Grocery Store
Only a few hours after its unveiling, the London 2012 Olympics logo had its own petition to get it changed. 3,000 people signed it in only a few hours, signaling that people felt quite negatively about it.
The public outrage didn’t result in a change of logos. On the contrary, marketing experts and athletes alike praised it for being “dynamic,” evoking movement, and in the words of the former Olympics minister in the UK, Tessa Jowell, “very, very edgy.”
#16
Could Not Find My 102 Apartment
#17
Ah Yes, The 5 P’s
#18
Got This As A Gift And Honestly I Don't Want To Throw It Away Just Because It's Terribly Funny
Do you think design needs to be edgy, Pandas? Which one of these design blunders would’ve benefitted from a little less edge, do you think? Let us know your thoughts about the entries on this list in the comments! And if you’d like to see some examples of good design, check out our previous publication about the times designers nailed it and got praised online!
#19
Um Im Pretty Sure Mike Doesnt Have 2 Eyes
#20
Buy A Man Eat Fish
#21
This Terribly Worded Sign I Saw Today. Sorry, I’ll Pick Up My Dog’s Poop... Wouldn’t Want To Ruin Your Child Eating Experience
sturmwesen 21 hours ago
They don't clean up after themselves. that's why you see pacifiers, shoes and socks everywhere. sometimes they even let them roam before eating them and in summer they wash them at the river. /jk
#22
Sign At A Local Beach
#23
This Isn’t How You Play Tennis…
UncleJon_TheMadScientist 6 hours ago
I can just picture the ball on the elastic band snapping back right into his "buddies" 😵💫
#24
Nice Place To Cut Off The Sign Disney
#25
"No Smoking Alcohol"
#26
It Just Looks Like A Toilet
#27
This Sign At A Fitness Club Is A Little Sadistic
Partypants 8 hours ago
Yeah, you have to burn them before you eat them to get that nice crisp.
#28
Toilet Seat Makes It Looks Like Someone Didn't Quite Make It
#29
Laugh Less
#30
I Think Jesus Failed You This Time
#31
This Sign
#32
A Sign That Looks Like It Says "Follow Someone Home"
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 21 hours ago
In my defence to the stalking charge I was only doing what the sign told me!
#33
Yeah About That Van
#34
Wait. Am I Alone?
WhyamIhere? 20 hours ago
I'm colourblind, what does this say? Yeah, it says they're alone but am I missing something? It's a mental health sign and weird spacing so... idk, help :(
#35
Take A Trip To Risp
I am not you 2 hours ago
When they finally use the Eiffel Tower as the letter A, that turns out wrong for someone, too.
#37
This Paper Towel Sign
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 21 hours ago
Aside from the accidental racism, why would you have separate paper towels?
#38
The Arrangement Of The Buttons On This Remote
#40
I Left The Union Under The Tadpole
#41
Punctuation Matters, Even On A Toilet Sign
#42
Poor Colour On This Shop Sign
#43
Mobile Poont? Surely The O Would Have Served Better As The Point Icon!
#44
The Words They Chose To Have Standout Color
#45
Now That’s Just Bad Design
#46
This Awful Bread Packaging Design, Which Looks Exactly Like Mould:
#48
This "Sudoku" Christmas Tree Decoration Is Clearly A Bingo Card
#49
Had To Do A Double-Take Because Of This Font
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 21 hours ago
The Alt Right can celebrate Valentine's day as well you know!
#50
Letters Are Not Aligned Well. But The Water Is Fart Free!
#51
This Is Horrendous
#52
Two Shops Next To Each Other. They Might Want To Think About Moving One Of The Signs Somewhere Else
Elladine DesIsles 20 hours ago
I am relieved to shared that while these two businesses still exist in Eugene, OR, they are no longer neighbours. According to Google Maps, "My Little Children" was successful enough, in spite of this location, to have relocated to bigger digs across town. Meanwhile, Bonin took on a couple of partners and also expanded at the pictured address, becoming BKS CPAs. (I felt the need to check, as I am related to French Canadian Bonins).
#53
Sign I Saw At The Dmv
#54
Promotional Poster For 'Formula Art' Accidentally Suggests A Much Gassier Business
#55
Oaaabt 8aub (Carpet Sale)
#58
As We All Know Batman's Mom Is A Very Well Known Superhero
#59
This Pencil Used To Say "Not Every Disability Is Visible"
#60
The Restaurant Logo On This Menu Blocks The Words And Makes It Impossible To Read
#61
Every You Give Zoom More Idea?
Lady Gypsy Rain 6 hours ago
It’s like someone scattered a bunch of scrabble tiles and made words for points
#63
I’m Proud To Say This Only Took Me 5 Minutes To Figure Out
Elladine DesIsles 20 hours ago
I'm just going to assume the lesson here is that once you start with drinks, nothing else makes sense.
#64
Yep, I'll Definitely Know What To Do "In Fire Emergency", Hilton Garden Inn Cherry Creek (Denver)
#65
Him In Us Is... Heaven?
#67
Designed To Fail!
#68
Champs 🥀🥀 (Found This At A School I Went To For A Chess Match)
#70
I Love The Sound When You Make Up!! Shut
#71
This Sign Needs A Little Fine-Tuning
#72
Since A Wine Glass Naturally Looks Like The Letter 'H' And An Aircraft Like A 'Y'
#73
“If Only There Was An Object That Looked Like An ‘O’” Is Only The Start Of This One
Chich the witch 5 hours ago
I can easily imagine someone pointing this out during proofing and some w****r going "No, its going out like this"
#74
I Love Sping
#75
For The Life Of Me, I Have No Idea How The Pictures And Captions Correspond To The Acronym
#76
This Birthday Plate Where The Balloon Strings Just Look Like Hair
I am not you 1 hour ago
I would try to remove the "hairstrands" right away.😁And then I thought they were mine. I shed like my dog do,in the spring.
#78
Saw This In A Hotel In St.augustine
#79
Terrible Lollipop Slogan
#80
Which Way Do I Walk?
#81
I Was Wondering Why I Kept Ending Up On The 4th Floor After Pressing 2
I am not you 1 hour ago (edited)
This one is easy to understand,for me, at least. Ptess 1 and the elevator stop at 2nd floor first,then the 3dh. Press 5 and it stopp at 10th first,then the 11th. Possibly a temporary solution until they get it replaced with a new panel?
#82
Found On Amazon- Good Night, Tight Sleep To You All
Dave Van Beurden 20 hours ago (edited)
Had many good nights, my sleep hasn't been tight since my twenties
#83
Kids Lingerie 🤔 Not A Good Design
#84
The World's Worst Urinal. At Least You Can't Cross The Streams
#86
This “Sink” In My Swedish Hotel Room
#89
So Is It Off Or Set To 60 Watts?
#92
Music People Together Come Makes The
Elladine DesIsles 20 hours ago
I read "Music makes the people together come" but that really isn't an improvement, is it?
#93
Menu Only Available Through Reflective Qr Code
Fire Singer 8 hours ago
If I don't know going in they only do QR codes I won't leave, but I won't go back that's for sure. I know that's a grumpy old lady thing but I'm a grumpy old lady.
#94
This Impossible Word Search For Kids, That Perhaps Aims To Teach Young People A Lesson In Failure:
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 21 hours ago
Usually the words have some connection in word searches. What is the theme here?
#95
God Bless The 51 States Of America
#97
Upper And Lower Case
#98
Apparently This Is A Promo For A Writer's Festival
#99
"Tear Away" Tag. So That Was A Lie
Fire Singer 9 hours ago
I've had this happen before with a tear away tag. I was probably an irrational level of mad, but I was fuming! It had ONE job!!
#100
I Really See What They Were Going For Here, But Um, It's Terribly Misleading
#101
Eye Drop Bottle Does Not Note That It Is Eye Drops
Elladine DesIsles 19 hours ago
To be fair, this would have been sold packaged in a box with additional information on it (I don't think I ever purchased this exact product, but I have purchased Life Brand eye drops from Shoppers D**g Mart here in Canada; it's the in-house store brand). It would only be a problem if one forgot what the product was after purchasing (and these are tiny bottles with a short shelf life once opened).
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What do you think ?
David Paterson 20 hours ago
I like the fun ones where the meaning is clear even though the text is garbled. That's not a fault, that's a feature.
David Paterson 20 hours ago
I like the fun ones where the meaning is clear even though the text is garbled. That's not a fault, that's a feature.
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