Ugly. Lame. Disastrous. This list of descriptions for epic design fails might not be exhaustive, but it’s enough to get you up to speed with the thought bubbles you can expect to pop into your mind as you’re scrolling through the images in this post, brought to you by us from this online group that's dedicated to bad design. Good taste might seem like it’s common sense, but we’ve got all the proof in the world that this isn’t the case. Unfortunately, what looks awful to you and us and obviously doesn’t function well isn’t always apparent to the designers behind the disasters.
Remember, upvoting a photo here means that you love how fantastically horrid it looks. Be sure to let us know which of the worst design mistakes caught your eye the most, dear Pandas. In need of more proof that your own sense of taste is actually really, amazingly good? You’re in luck. You can find our other posts about truly awful design decisions right here, here, as well as here. Got any photos of bad designs around your house? Drop us a pic in the comment section.
Bored Panda spoke about the principles of good design, the line between quality and bad design, as well as human beings' intuition to automatically feel what's designed well with Tim Antoniuk, an Associate Professor of Design Studies at the University of Alberta.
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To Motivate
Spoiler
These Barriers Designed To Prevent Cyclists From Passing Through
We’ve spoken about Dieter Rams’ 10 principles for good design before. And even though we wholeheartedly agree with them and believe they’re timeless, some of them could be adapted to better reflect how much the world has changed over the last few decades. In short, there are some new nuances that designers should take into account.
According to Antoniuk from the University of Alberta, Rams "does a great job" determining what makes design great. However, this doesn't mean that Rams was able to foresee exactly how the world would change.
"That said, given the speed of change that we encounter today in our lives in the digital environment that we live in, I believe that some great design is not necessarily timeless. One example is seen in Interface Design, Ux Design, and in-service design. As new layers get added into our lives, things naturally have an evolutionary cycle. This is different from furniture which naturally can be more ubiquitous and designed to fit the human body. There is a great deal of fuzziness in this discussion but I do believe that the essence of this idea is true," the Associate Professor explained.
'Daisy's' Might Want To Reconsider That Layout
Oooh, I need a new ass. I am pretty artsy fartsy and love a bit of diy. Address please.
Honey, You Really Shouldn't Have
He Was Fined For Speeding, When The Car Was On A Tow Truck
In Antoniuk's opinion, there is such a thing as good and bad product, furniture, and interior design. But degrees of preference create a gray area where a clear line between quality and a lack thereof should exist. "The gray area comes in when people start to talk about taste and about degrees of aesthetic. I may love the design of Bauhaus furniture, for example, while somebody may feel that it is too cold and void of personality. Not unlike great art, I believe that much of what came from this era is ‘great design,’ in part because it represents an era and a philosophy. When we start to mix in discussions of taste and preference, that is where the gray areas of good and bad design get blurred."
Antoniuk also believes that people can intuitively "feel" and sense good design. "Quite often, this relates to ergonomics and the usability or functionality of the products and services and systems. Having said that, I think far too many people expect poor design that doesn’t really work well," he told Bored Panda.
What's more, he believes that good and bad design are skills that can be learned, especially when we start diving deep into the realm of aesthetics. "For me, great design is what Dieter [Rams] talks about—it is also intuitive, it is deeply sympathetic and empathetic to the user at all levels, and at some level, it is emotional. It is a catalyst for giving us feelings."
What Not To Name Your Animal Charity In Bury, UK
I Can't Even
That fact that they misspelled “players” is proof enough for me that they uh don’t exactly educate amazingly
My Son Just Asked Me Why This Lady Is Reading Poop Magazine. I'm So Proud
Suzanne Labarre of Co.Design has a similar take in that she also believes that Rams’ principles could be updated. While Labarre has the IT and tech industry in mind, the principles for good design are pretty much universal, no matter if you’re designing an app, setting up a building’s interior, or creating a brand new product.
In Labarre’s opinion, good design has to be transparent, easy to understand, and done in a way that empowers its users, instead of overwhelming them. Furthermore, Labarre puts a lot of emphasis on each designer’s responsibility for what they create: they have to be aware of the possible consequences their creations might have, both on the consumers and on society.
For Labarre, design is inherently political. Product design (whether physical or digital) has the ability to change how power is distributed in society. This feeds back into the point about how we should all be aware of how our designs can change the world. Naturally, this extends far beyond just chuckling at epic design fails—but even that’s great to wind down after a long day at work! Or… at your work desk (don’t worry, we won’t judge).
This School Mental Health Survey
Because I Can See Through Stainless Steel
Tell Your Wedding Guests To Die
Dial 999 For... Oh
A Nail Or A Screw
Sub-Par ATM Placement
I’m Pretty Sure That’s Not How You’re Supposed To Hold A Scythe
This Woman Turning Into Fish Roll
This Kid Friendly Hand Sanitizer Package. Looks Like One Of Those Apple Sauce Things
Hammering His Own
What Gave It Away?
If You've Ever Thought Kids Getting Hurt One At A Time Isn't Efficient Enough, Here's An Idea
Good Job Using The Computer My Dude
You Either Wet Your Shoes Or Do Some Exercise To Cross This Bridge
This reminds me of a bridge with a glass deck in Bilbao, Basque Country (northern Spain)... It rains a lot in Bilbao... So the bridge was very pretty, yes, but also extremely slippery and dangerous! It's called Zubizuri Bridge. The city ended up covering the glass with non-slip material. https://www.barcelo.com/guia-turismo/en/bilbao/things-to-do/zubizuri/
Hmmm
Id make a blonde joke, but instead I will wait for a poor bastard that does it for me and join in on the mass public condemnation of his lack of PC awareness
Don't **** Your Dog In This Park
Everybody Loves Beach Basketball
A White Background Does Not Really Fit With This
My Son Is Too Terrified To Learn Anything From These Speech Therapy Worksheets, And Frankly I Don't Blame Him
Who Thought It Would Be A Good Idea To Replace The O In Dumbo With A Heart?
I saw little baby hats where they replaced the O of hello with a heart. Just as bad.
Not All Heroes Cover Their Noses
So The Fire Alarm Caught On Fire Earlier
And there was loud beeping coming from the stovetop, the oven, the toaster, the microwave, and the fireplace!
So My Sister Had A Clemson Mask Made For Her
The Paper In This Sliced Cheese Makes It Look Like It Has Mold Spots
What Can Go Wrong If We Put The Power Button Next To The Most Used Key
Homogeneity Sucks
Behold, The Sensory Overload Car
Every Time I Get Used To One, I Screw Up The Other
This Electric Heater Can Melt It's Plastic Casing When At Full Power
This Is Shampoo
Might as well put a 'Swallow whole' on Tide Pods whilst you're at it.
Anyone Got A Grey Hi Vis I Can Borrow
Yes, But Actually No
These Snow Boots That Have Bottoms That Don't Release Snow. They Turn Into Ice High Heels After 2 Steps
Google Says The New Icon Is A Wallet. How Is This Supposed To Be A Wallet
Its clearly two homosexual taco shells hugging each other. PC Company statement policy: The author has no ill will against anyones sexual preferance, identification or transformation. And will not say no to good tacos
I Spent 15 Minutes Looking For A Plug In My Hotel Room... The Only One Is Behind The Radiator
So the cord gets nicely melted where it hangs down on the metal, brilliant.
The Health Benefits Of Ginger Tea Include Cancer, Alzheimer's Disease And More
Found On Amazon
Give Thonks
Nothing Says Privacy Like Saloon Style Doors
Yeah, like that is anything different from the huge gaps in toilet stalls all around the USA. The actual problem is that it's probably impossible to manoever a wheel chair in their while being able to close the doors behind you. You either open both doors before you enter, which is hard or you just accept that the gaps are really not very different from having no door at all.
The Mom On The Right Looks Like She Got The Baby's Head But Not The Baby
This Poster At My School
This is what happens when Scotty messes up the transporter co-ordinates
No Broken Legs I Know Of
So I Just Bought This Chair And None Of The Reviews Mentioned This
The Legs Are The Exact Same Length Even Though One Is Bent
Yeah, I'll Just Jump Over That Real Quick
This Sponge That Looks Like It’s Covered In Mold
Fleshy Shower
Looks a little like skin zoomed on a microscope. (Well what I imagine it would look like)
Kix Cereal Box Has A Masked Out Spoon To Give The Illusion There’s Cereal On Top
Steps That You Can't See
Toilet Door With Another Door In It That Won't Stay Closed
Imagine Having To Scrub Or Clean It
Time The Pulse To The Watch You're Not Wearing
'Okay Larry, did you photoshop the watch in like I asked?'. Larry: 'Oh'.
Picked Up My Little Brothers Toothbrush Today. Not The Best Way To Shorten A Word
the pedo van was getting too many complaints about handing out candy, i see...
It's A Justin Bieber Couch
I’ve Said It Before And I’ll Say It Again: Quotation Marks Are Not For Emphasis
This is illegal in the EU. You are not allowed to label something as gluten free if it doesn't normally contain gluten.
Two Windows Of My Workplace Are Constantly Fighting For The Honor Of Being The One Who Is Going To Be Opened
A Sticker From The Grocery Store. It Says “Smile,” And Tries To Use A Distorted Shopping Cart To Make A Smile. However, The Wheels On The Cart Pull The Brainwaves Into Thinking The Face Is Upside Down. Coincidentally, This Is The Face I Made When I Saw It
Entrance Could Be Tough
My School’s Official Anti Bullying Presentation. Every Title Slide Is The Same Way
New Bike Road
How Big Is This Backpack Exactly
Thought You Had To Read It In A Circle. Took Me A Minute To Figure It Out
Design For Thermal Trousers. Looks Like He Pulled Them Down And Took A Dump
School Does Some Renovations. New Outside Area Has The Tables In A Lower Section Surrounded By A Step Up Of Pavement. Guess What Happened When It Rained Two Days Ago
Lario And Muiji
This Hideous Statue Of Tinker Bell
What If You Could Poop Into Donald
*No Ryan, no... Resist the temptation... You know it is wrong, so don't do it... Don't mention Trump, it's not kind...*
This Barber Shop Where You Can Give A Small Child An Adult Hairstyle And Bears Trim
This Is An Elsa Paper Lantern For Our Country's (Vietnam) Moon Festival
Canada Flag
Yes, they are about to annex the US, and the rest of the world will just nod slightly
I Texted Two Zeros Multiple Times Before I Realized That Was An O
I Hope My Kid Is Half This Happy
Facebook Home Screen - No Wonder People Don't Use This
I Noticed That My Roommates Toaster Is Melting Itself
Czech Philharmonic’s Benefit Concert On April 25 2020
Talk smack if you will, but at least they can breathe through the nose when not playing and keep those particles in check. What ticks me off is televisión audiences that scream and yell wearing a cloth mask in a much smaller studio then this concert hall.
Olaf Had Too Much Snow
If Only Louisiana Looked Like A Letter Of The Alphabet
And Sometimes People Use The Left Part
Just guessing, but would most of the people who try to go up the left, were walking whilst on their phones?
Babies In Jars
Art On Netflix For “Seventh Son”
Nothing Says “Tough” Like Rolled Up Pant Legs
Do I Have To Say Anything?
This Terrible Example Conversation
Friends Don't Let Friends Get Cheap Ink
Oh my god, they even tried to copy the animal ears underneath which is a completely separate tattoo. If you're the kind of person who steals an artist's work (I know who the artist is and he's amazing) for someone else to do it cheaper, you absolutely deserve this. Also the tattooist who did the poor copy (I refuse to call them an artist) shouldn't tattoo if they do sh*t like this.
Really Bad Ad Design For Cancer Treatment
The Cdc Wants You To Get Shingles, Apparently
A Bench That You Can Easily Drop Your Phone Into, It's Also Extremely Uncomfortable
ND Filter That Amazingly Adds Structures When Used
"reduce the amount of incoming light by placing a house in front of you. Not to be used while driving"
The Way This Makeup Ad Collage Was Composed Makes It Look As If There Was A Cyclop Woman On The Bottom Left Corner
Let’s Do Lunch
Gum Protection
Fart Superior Written With Flames? Red Splash?
Nearly Blew Threw This Intersection!
Well what do you expect on Evergreen. Everything is green. Don’t think the person with the garage got the memo though.
This Tablecloth That Looks Like A Hair Carpet
5 Steps
The Dividers In This Stall Are Way Too High Up. They Could See My Thighs
Apparently North Is Opposite To East
Nie ohne Seife waschen! (Literally: Never wash without soap, but in English it does not work, obviously) The phrase that kids hereabouts use to help remember the proper sequel of the directions, while turning around clockwise: Nord, Ost, Süd, West Does the English language have any similar phrase?
Found On Real Estate Listing: Interesting Bathroom Layout
Bike Stand At The Local Metro Station Is To Narrow To Fit A Normal Wheel
Parking Garage In Lincoln, Nebraska Didn’t Want Me To Find My Car.
They Said The New Office Seating Would Be Great
That's just a stupid layout no matter what. Move the partitions so they're flush with the support and most problems there are resolved.
A Tight Squeeze
It’s Even Smaller In Person
An Alternate Path For Disabled With Steps
This Candle Melts Its Own Container
that would scare me... ever since my hand caught on fire (don't ask) I'm terrified of setting the house on fire
Cumcuber
A Bench At A Metro Station
Someone Paid Money For This To Be Their Sign And Logo/Mascot. I’m Convinced This Is Drug Lord’s Money Laundering Business
This Couch In Our Hotel Room. And No, It Does Not Separate
Nemo? What Happened
Where Do I Walk
As A Designer Myself, This Makes Me Dizzy Just By Looking At It
Ok Which One Of You Put Fn Key As The Most Bottomleft Key On The Keyboard Instead Of Ctrl
If it's a Thinkpad, you can actually switch Fn and Ctrl in the BIOS. But on a side note : Function key on the bottom left is pretty common.
This Graph Posted By Atkins On Twitter
If You Didn't Know, 718 Billion Is Only A Little More Than 266 Billion
Headphone Adapter Advertised On Phone That Already Has A Headphone Jack
absolute genius advertising. next time, get an advertising person who has more than one brain cell
I Don't Think These Images Are To Scale
Marge Simpson Has Two Mouths On The Official Simpsons Pyjamas
How Do You Spell Christmas
Literally Reads "1 Person Per Elevator"
Make Love Not
{insert witty comment I can't think of now but will in a few hours}
This Bathroom With Too Many Stairs
Disney Font Puts The Fun In Funeral
Got This Cool Temporary Tattoo
These Stairs Carpeted With A Pattern That Makes It Hard To See The Edge
Banning Single Use Plastics, Including Wooden Coffee Stir Sticks
But that's still equal to #reducewaste as it stated? That's the message, right?
This Ergonomic Seating Diagram Has 90 Degree Angles That Look Like 120 Degrees
This Jack-O-Lantern Light Requires 3 Batteries, And Each One Has Its Own Compartment
Tooling for injection molding isn't cheap. They had existing tooling for a single-battery sized door... thousands of dollars saved.
The Design On The Christmas Coke Makes It Look Like Wet Paint
Youtube Music's Like And Dislike Button Are Inverted From Youtube's
A Diagram About An Elgato Capture Card That I Found In An Article
Daily Pill Organiser. No Chance Of Any Confusion
At my school there is a sign that reads "smile and say hello". It would be fine if it were not for one flaw: the O looks like a period
I really wish I could get a job where people show me what they're about to do and I can just look at them with derision and say, "You know why that's stupid, right?"
Hi, these articles are long. How about placing a return to top at the bottom of the article to avoid wearing out my scrolling finger. Thanks for keeping it all on the same page though (I thoroughly appreciate that.) I hate having to click through multiple pages. A link at the bottom would be much appreciated. Cheers.
https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.m319p1oxWqYwLFn8ucTf0QHaFj&pid=Api
At my school there is a sign that reads "smile and say hello". It would be fine if it were not for one flaw: the O looks like a period
I really wish I could get a job where people show me what they're about to do and I can just look at them with derision and say, "You know why that's stupid, right?"
Hi, these articles are long. How about placing a return to top at the bottom of the article to avoid wearing out my scrolling finger. Thanks for keeping it all on the same page though (I thoroughly appreciate that.) I hate having to click through multiple pages. A link at the bottom would be much appreciated. Cheers.
https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.m319p1oxWqYwLFn8ucTf0QHaFj&pid=Api