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50 Times People Encountered Such Over-Designed Things, They Just Had To Share
There’s good design. There’s bad design. And we can usually intuitively tell the two apart just by looking at it. But wait! There’s also ‘design design,’ a really weird category that straddles the line between quality aesthetics and truly awful taste. Some designers just don’t know when to stop designing their designy designs and go way overboard. Are we starting to sound redundant and over-complicated? Good, now you’re getting it!
The best (worst?) of these ‘designy designs’ end up being shared on the r/DesignDesign subreddit, an intriguing online community that both celebrates and criticizes these errr VeRy InTeReStInG aNd ArTiStIc ideas for products and furniture. We’ve collected some of the most bizarre and original pics to share with you, Pandas.
Scroll down, upvote the designs that really had an impact on you, and if you love what you see, consider becoming a member of the subreddit.
Bored Panda reached out to Matt Johnson, Ph.D., the host of the Consumer Psychology Blog and the Human Nature Blog, for a few insights on the importance of finding the right balance between the designer's vision for their product, as well as what would appeal to consumers. He told us that, at its core, user experience is about empathy. Johnson is a professor of consumer psychology at Hult International Business School and Harvard University, and the author of 'Branding that Means Business.' Read on for our interview with him.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Wall Outlets With Extension Cords Built Into The Wall
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#2
Stacked Seating At A Restaurant
#3
Hidden Fire Extinguishers
#4
Found On The Designp**n Frontpage
#5
Ok I Think I Found The Ultimate Decanter. This One Keeps Me Awake At Night
#6
Drink The Rainbow
#7
A Nature Inspired Bathroom
#8
Imagine Going Through All The Trouble Of Publishing Just To See This
Hippopotamuses 3 years ago (edited)
Frankly. I’m not sure whether you’ve been ripped off or not. (Edited: Changed ‘what her’ to ‘whether’)
#9
Swinging In The Conference Room
#10
A Car Fender Bicycle
#11
Possibly One Of The Worst Staircases I've Ever Seen
#12
Door Knob Design That Gives You A Fish Eye View Of The Room Ahead
#13
Holy F**king S**t
Bored Retsuko 3 years ago
I don't see the problem. If this was mine, it would always look precisely like that! That's because I poop shiny little crystals. /jk
#14
No Way This Can Go Wrong
#15
Apartments In Amsterdam
Marcos Valencia 3 years ago
It will be beautiful when plants will start growing in the terraces.
#16
Imagine What It Looks Like In Fall
#17
Another Silverware Set... Another Useless Spoon
#18
A Banana Slide That Trains Your Determination. If You Get Lost, Your Crotch Will Die
#19
Injury Attorney’s Dream Staircase
#21
This Is The New University Building Of Freiburg That At The Same Time Blinds The Road Traffic
#22
Found On Fb... I Can Hear This Image
#23
Books And Bath
Jeremy James 3 years ago
One minor earthquake and you'd die in the bath, crushed under an avalanche of books. Wait, can I request that?
#24
Let Me Just Find My Keys
#25
A Balcony Without Sun Or Fresh Air Is Just A People Shelf
#27
These Would Be Awful To Use
#29
For Me, The Juicy Salif Is The Pinnacle Of Design Design
Marcos Valencia 3 years ago
This is a Philippe Starck's design for the Italian brand Alessi, I have it, and I love it... And, if someone is wondering... Yes, I used it. And, yes, it's a total mess!
#30
This Hallway Must Have Looked Awesome On The Blueprints
#31
Does This Count?
#32
Reinventing The Pint
#33
When You Want The Guarantee Of A Broken Neck From Your Staircase
#34
This Fire Pit That Doubles As A Side Table When You Tip All The Ash On The Floor
#35
Splash-Proof Urinals
#36
W Fart Free Water
#37
The Lucky Knot Bridge In China
#38
Why? Just Why?
#39
Thanks I Hate It
#40
A Bookshelf To Store Some Pebbles Or Something
#41
Because A Hat Would Be Far To Complicated
#42
This Sink. Spotted On A Facebook Ad
#43
A Maze Of Concentric Circles On The Back Of The Phone Fitting Its Earphones Perfectly
#44
This Luxurious Toilet
#45
Clocks
#46
Dear God I Just Needed To Pee
#47
Love Designy Cumbersome Roundware
#48
Saw This On Insta
Icecream Sarang 3 years ago
Oddly, if you know how to read a clock, they don’t even need numbers, so why bother?
#49
That Looks Comfortable
#50
Stock Market Bench
Natalie Bohrteller 3 years ago
Oh yeah, now it's not only homeless people who are banned from sleeping on it, it's also everybody else who can't use it. Next level bench! /s
#51
The Cashier At The Store Was Very Mad He Couldn’t Find The Barcode
#52
Yeah. No. No Thanks
#53
Spotted This Yesterday
#54
This Couch Has Fat Rolls
#56
Did I Accidentally Do A Design Design? This Is The Clock I Made For My Living Room
#57
Have Fun Memorizing The Height Of Different Pieces
#58
Dyson Air Purifier Headphones
#59
I Feel This Might Belong Here?
pug nose curly tail 3 years ago
I kinda like it. *shrug* it's says tomorrow's a new day, 11:59 representing the end of the day. Idk, I think it's neat.
#60
I Like Minimalism But Medicine Is Not The Right Place For It
#61
This Gorgeous Stupid Mug
#63
Umbrella Doubles As A Poncho. Looks Comfy!
#64
Plate Design
#65
This Coffee Table
#66
This Stubby Handle That You Have To Pinch To Pick Up The Coffee Cup (From IKEA)
#67
Salt Lake City, Triple Decker Fireplace
#68
Hard To Clean
#69
If This Hasn't Already Been Posted
#70
Found At An Antique Store In Hudson, NY. $15,000
#71
A Nightmare To Clean, Fraglie And Extremely Unhygienic After The Very First Use. Good Looks Only
#72
Restroom Sign In A Bar Named Toolbar
#73
These Stairs
#74
"Small Space Design"
#75
Armchair Sofa
Abgr Xenda 3 years ago
do you think the designer have a childhood psych problem that reflects the inner intervention of his concerns about the future, when he design this sofa? or it is just me watching a normal sofa flipped on the side?
#76
A New Bike Ddeessiiggnn
#77
Let's Play Guess What's A Faucet. I Saw 3 Guys In A Row Guess Wrong. I Was One Of Them
#78
You Can Go Illuminated I Guess (That’s A Room Light)
#79
Seems Like This Would Have A Lot Of Small/Annoying Problems
#80
$1000 For An Uncomforable Chair With Sharp Edges
#81
Pasta Served In A Bottle That Is Levitating On A Chain
#82
This “Reimagined” Mortar And Pestle
#83
Who Says Crown Molding Is Overdone?
#85
Hanging Bookshelf. It's Just Like A Normal Shelf, But More Designey
#86
Introducing, The Scrub & Plunge
#87
Rice Dice
#88
These Stairs Look Kind Of Cool, But Will Definitely Kill You
#89
Can’t Wait To Sweep And Have The Thing Constantly Bend
#91
Design Of The Entryway Isn't Satisfying Or Good, But It Is A Lot Of Design
#92
The Reebok Atv 19+
#93
This Would Be A Terrible Handrail. People Falling Wouldn't Be Able To Grab Into It, And It Would Be Horrible To Clean
#94
Looks Nice, But Is A Nightmare To Stack Your Groceries In As You Walk Around The Store
#95
Ever Try Sitting On A Stack Of Blankets?
#96
Eating Off The Underside Of Your Carpet
#97
Believe It Or Not, This Is Not A Fancy Scratch Post. It Is An Actual Cardboard Chair That Costs $1,025
#98
These Round Dice
#99
How Have Three Kinds Of Cutlery When One Will Do?
ADHORTATOR 3 years ago
how do you use the knife and the fork at the same time? You need two..... :-)
#100
Rainbow?? Bench?? At Laguardia Airport
#101
All The Drinking Glasses In This Restaurant Are Slanted
#103
The Pinnacle Of Overdesigned S*te
#104
And Here I Thought I Was Poor For Carrying An Old Suitcase 😅
#105
Looks Great, As Long As You Don’t Try To Actually Use It
#106
Two Letters Having Sex On Top Of Cum? Sure, Why Not, That’s Exactly What I Want From Cucumber Water
#107
Good Luck Getting The Last Bit Of Wine Out Of Your Glass
#108
My Beer Was Served In A Box
Francis 3 years ago
from the comments on the OP: That’s a Japanese masu. And it’s how sake is served at traditional events like weddings. In modern times you’ll get them frequently if you order sake in many izakaya or Japanese restaurants and bars too! Usually the sake glass (like a shotglass but a little bigger) or ceramic choko (that you can see just to the right of the box) is put IN the box and it’s filled to overflow into the box. You drink the glass and then drain the overflow remnants from the box - the wood adds to the texture/flavour. Someone has obviously taken some creative liberty by deciding that beer can go in there too. It appears to be a Japanese restaurant anyway. So while BEER in it is not the norm, it’s pretty easy to see what has happened here.
#109
New Fashion Standards Being Created Before Our Eyes
#110
Armchair, 1976, Tokyo
#111
Umbrella Sunshade Backpack Thing?
#112
Single Use Dirty Knife For Single Use Butter
#113
This Coffee Cup
Paulo Freitas 3 years ago (edited)
Thats almost a normal Irish coffee cup ( at least the ones we serve them in here )
#114
The New Tesla Steering Wheel, There's A Reason This Usually Stays On The Design Students Portafolio And Never Makes It Into A Production Car
Jrog 3 years ago
This design goes far, far back. The first instance I am aware of is a design by Giugiaro for the Chevrolet Corvair in the early 60s. Giugiaro reused and expanded the concept on the Oldsmobile INCAS prototype in the mid-80. Around the same time, it was included in the groundbreaking Mazda MX-03 prototype, a car with 4-wheel steering, digital dashboard and fly-by-wire controls. BMW, MG, Lexus, Toyota have cars, or at least recent patents, about cloche-style steering wheels, and this kind of wheel is standard on F1 racing cars since the 90s
#115
This Controller
#116
Wait... What?
The only Plueschopossum 3 years ago
Rooms 201-213... but I'm pretty sure the people there don't want to be found :D
#117
This Watch
ADHORTATOR 3 years ago
they were a thing in the 1970s, I have one and instead of the date it shows the seconds passing
#118
Mason Cash Combined Rolling Pin And Salt Shaker, For When You Want To Roll Out Your Dough And Salt Your Table At The Same Time
#119
Think Of The Clammy Hands
#120
Rain Is The First That Comes To Mind
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What do you think ?
Liz Clarke 3 years ago
I don't think any of the designers seem to know that disabled people exist. As an ambulatory wheelchair user/walking stick user loads of these would be a nightmare for me.
Tim 3 years ago
Many of them would be dangerous to 100% able bodied people too.
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MongoMarcia 3 years ago
Regarding all the stairs: Do they not have building codes? They are death traps.
Liz Clarke 3 years ago
I don't think any of the designers seem to know that disabled people exist. As an ambulatory wheelchair user/walking stick user loads of these would be a nightmare for me.
Tim 3 years ago
Many of them would be dangerous to 100% able bodied people too.
Load More Replies... MongoMarcia 3 years ago
Regarding all the stairs: Do they not have building codes? They are death traps.
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