50 Designs That Are So Bad, It’s Hard To Believe Someone Came Up With Them (New Pics)
Call the aesthetics police and send a telegram to the epic fails department—we’ve got some awful design decisions to report, and we think there needs to be an official inquiry. This multi-million-member strong subreddit is devoted to showing the most awful sides of design, whether we’re talking about interiors, exteriors, or plain old products. We’ve collected some of the most egregious designs to grace the internet in recent days, so make sure your inner critic is all fired up and ready to go, cuz things are about to get real.
Bored Panda got in touch with Ariane Sherine, the new editor at These Three Rooms, the unique sister site to the Kitchens Bedrooms Bathrooms magazine, for a chat about good and bad design, and how to make your designs stand out. You’ll find our full interview with Ariane, who lent us her eye for aesthetics, below, so be sure to check it out while you’re upvoting the best of the worst design pics, Pandas.
When you’re done enjoying this utter (un)aesthetic madness in this list, you should check out Bored Panda’s recent articles about epic design fails here, here, and here.
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Stoplights In Lake Tahoe Filled With Snow Due To A Crappy Design Of Not Having The Bottom Cut Out To Prevent Snow Accumulation. It’s A World-Class Ski Area, Snow Should Be A Key Factor In All Design Decisions
Wheelchair Friendly Stairway
Blehhh
Ariane, an editor working at These Three Rooms, was kind enough to share her thoughts about design, aesthetics, and quality with Bored Panda. Ariane believes that the designs that have the biggest impact stand out in terms of aesthetics, form, and their physical durability.
“When it comes to aesthetics, 'bad design' is a very individual thing that comes down to personal taste,” she said that our personal taste plays an important role in how we judge designs. However, we shouldn’t judge designs based on just how we feel about them. We need to take other things into account as well.
Just So We're All Clear, This Man Has Cracked Open A Child And Is Now Wearing Its Insides On His Head, Correct?
At Least They Can't See Your Face
Nice to know that they can get acquainted with your other cheeks though.
Orange Is The New Milk
Design expert Ariane gave Bored Panda an example of how our personal tastes, likes, and dislikes can affect our judgment.
“For example, I don't particularly like busy 'maximalist' designs with too many clashing prints and patterns, and I'm not keen on very dark colors, but those might be heaven for somebody else,” she said.
“It's perhaps more helpful to talk about 'bad design' as design that doesn't function as it should—for instance, a kitchen that doesn't have what's called 'good flow', where you have to walk impractical distances between complementary appliances and where the dimensions of the 'kitchen work triangle' (the distance between fridge, sink, and hob) aren't practical,” Ariane said that poor design is more related to poor functioning rather than just poor aesthetics.
Never Noticed
Yee-Haw A Violin!
I Wonder If She's Pregnant
“A kitchen where there isn't enough storage, where potentially dangerous appliances aren't located safely, and where cornflakes and milk are placed at opposite ends of the room is what I'd call 'bad design,'” she told us that bad design is broader and that we should look at the overall space where certain items are located, not just the individual items in isolation.
I Think I’ve Found It, The Worst Expiration Date Ever
Chalk With A Popsicle Color, Shape, And Even Wood Handle. What Could Go Wrong Giving These To Kids?
Know The Facts I Have Beautiful Teeth Too
On the flip side, what we consider to be good—or even great—design is all about putting in the energy, effort, and attention where it matters. Good design takes time, especially when it comes to our homes.
“‘Good design' is where a lot of thought and effort has been put into structuring and renovating a house so it's perfect for the people living in it. It takes account of their aesthetic preferences but also focuses on the concepts I mentioned before, paying close attention to detail,” Ariane told us.
The Worst Staircase I Have Ever Seen
Tactile Paving For The Visually Impaired Interrupted By Giant Bench
The Stairs In An Airbnb I Stayed In Where Every Step Is A Different Height, Width And Depth
and every medical bill keeps getting higher!! EXTRA fun
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When you're a carpenter and your son just got a PhD in Traumatology...
This is an old medieval thing. By making stairs in this way it slows down invaders and allows you to defend the castle better.
The inspectors test out the stairs... And they don't live long enough to make the report
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It could be an old (ancient?) building with old-style stone steps just covered with wood... That might explain the different size and so on.
If they were going to the trouble of recovering in wood, they could also have built standard stairs right over the existing ones. There appears to be plenty of room for that.
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I worked as gardner and there was one garden where one step is just an inch longer. I don't count how many times I tripped on that step.
One small step for man 27 broken bones and a hairline fracture to all wh0 dare..
Before building codes that was fairly common and led to a large number of injuries and even deaths.
i actually kind of like that. id have a broken ankle by the time i get back down but i like it
Lol you're the lucky one, my luck I'd have a broken neck by the time I get back down
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An Airbnb just outside Berlin had ladder stairs up to a loft where the bed was. I had to hold onto the railings for dear life going up and down and one night I slipped and cut open my heel on the bottom step, knocking over a huge glass vase full of tiny pebbles. I was embarrassed for the owner to see it so I spent an hour replacing all of the pebbles. Good thing I wasn’t a drinker because I surely would have broken my neck on those crazy stairs.
That's not just a bad design. That is against US building codes (probably other countries too)
I'm pretty sure that's against safety code regulations and I would fall up and sound them each time.
It's pretty though. Lots of energy put in to make the crappiest steps possible.
I have those going up to front door. I'm forever tripping up the stairs. Amateurs, bah!!
Wow, what an awesome (and dysfunctional) mix of a slide and a stairway!
When you tried to be an engineer for an hour without any studies and just for try-hard DIY:)
I have this problem on my front porch... only 2 steps, but it's amazing how awful it is, not to have the 2 steps the same height!
Must feel like going up and down the stairs up and down the stairs!
And the chair at the top looks like it could tumble off at any moment.
OK, this one isn't quite fair, but in my room in Borthwick Castle, you have to duck and step-up about 2 feet to get in the bathroom. It was built in 1430.
At least it was just a steps for you for me it was the Airbnb occupants...
This is what would've been next on 1000 Ways To Die if they didn't end it.
I think they give it that real "cave dweller" look and feel appeal
The stairs were like that in my grandparents' old house, but I think that's because the house was built in the 1600s.
The editor from These Three Rooms shared what good design looks like for her. “For me, good design is where artificial lighting is used strategically, and where the amount of natural light is maximized; where a room feels airy and spacious instead of closed in.”
This Is So Bad I Forgot How Giraffes Really Look
This "Taco" Someone Posted From Their Work Cafeteria
This Shirt
The design expert continued about what well-crafted spaces entail. These are designs “where the amount of walking and effort is minimized, as everything you need is to hand; where there are enough plug sockets and lights to meet the homeowner's needs; and where tables, seating, countertops, basins, etc are perfect for their height. These are classic principles that I doubt will change over time.”
This Marvel In Ohio
When I Almost Bought Shirts But Was Afraid Of How They Would Smell
Simple Question, Why?
According to Ariane, if you’re decorating the interior of your home, you might want to use a limited palette. “Aesthetically, I would personally only choose two or three complementary colors and whichever metallic finish you like for a color scheme, because to me that kind of coordination is stylish and beautiful, but it really comes down to individual preferences.”
The Toilet Paper Dispenser At My University - Every Roll Spins When You Spin One
Does your university have an engineering department? I'd like to speak to them.
Can We All Admire This Majestic Beast
A DIY Shower I Saw While House Hunting
Meanwhile, Tim Antoniuk, an Associate Professor of Design Studies at the University of Alberta, believes there are objectively good and bad products, but our preferences create a bit of a gray area between the two.
"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,” he told Bored Panda during an earlier interview.
The Sign Telling Us Where Our Room Is
Go Ahead I Dare You. Bike Lane Ends In Oncoming Traffic
Blursed
Tim from the University of Alberta thinks that people can intuitively tell if a design is good or not. We feel it, we sense it.
"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 said, adding that for him, great design is intuitive, empathetic to the user, and emotional.
Those Columns Look Awful
This Garbage Bin Actually Leads To Another Bathroom Stall
Don't Give Candy To Babies Please
Wash your hands like you're covered in hot sauce and need to go put your contact lenses in.
What has been the worst design that you have ever seen with your own two eyes, Pandas? Which of the terrible designs from this list are going to give you nightmares for many nights to come? Share your thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the article.
Wolf
The Handle Of This Pan Is Heavier Than The Actual Pan
Guys I Found An App Which Rents Ice Ships
The Letters, Mason! What Do They Mean?
Oh, I thought I knew what was the worst spelling book ever (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P_Is_for_Pterodactyl), but the one above even beats that.
Gnomes Are Symbol Of My City. It Used To Be A City Game For Tourists To Find Them All But There Are So Many Of Them It No Longer Makes Sense. City Opened Brand New Skate Park In The City. To Celebrate It They Put A Gnome There. Metal Gnome With Pointy Bits On Top Of A Ramp Right Next To A Rail
Wroclaw, Poland. Dang it, not playing hide and seek with the gnomes now...
The Buttons On This TV
Could you please turn the volume right? It's a little bit too left right now.
The Maze They Gave Us After Donating Blood Has No Escape
Image To Advertise A Photo Booth
Cherry On Top Of The Road
Ah Yes My Fav Avenger The Hulk With Double Layer Teeth
This Winter, You Can Set Your Feet On Fire
This Ad For A Fire Pit
This Emergency Escape Hammer Is Placed Behind A Plastic Cover Sealed With Screws. No There Is No Emergency Screwdriver Anywhere
Bus Stop Shelter
Hidden What?!
Please The Beans
This Spacious Toilet Cubical
Men's Toilet In A Cafe In Shanghai
This Is A Poster By A Design School
My Tesla's Door Handles When It's Icy Outside
Note: this post originally had 121 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
These are great, but all the (current) top comments stole the show 🤣🤣 nearly pissed myself
how? how do people make these and not realize how crappy they are?
You'd be surprised. I travel often for work and see horrible designs almost every where I go, especially in public bathrooms.
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For the bizzarro housing designs, I never understood how one can build stairs that make zero sense and the builders are like "Yep, job done!" Like, are the builders being paid by the designer to build it exactly to the letter, no questions asked?
I think the "builders" are being paid in beer and weed and they consumed both before doing their work.
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A tobacco company decided to rebrand one of their products just before the pandemic. Originally, they were going to call it Red Flow and as a woman, I cracked up 🤣 I think someone must have cottoned on because when it was released, it was named Flow Red instead 😂
Can't figure out how to post a picture so I will just describe it.. While shopping I came across a parachute that attaches to your waist to put drag while running. The picture on the front of box shows someone using it on a rooftop giving the impression that it could save your life if you were to fall while running on rooftops. Then you turn it over and read the Warning: This is to be used Only as shown/illustrated/described.
A local health insurance agency (Independent Health) has as their slogan "we'll give you the red shirt treatment". Which is meaningless on it's own, they show their staff wearing red shirts, but that still doesn't mean anything. If you're at all familiar with Star Trek, you know that a red shirt is the hapless security officer that is the first one to die. Please don't give me the red shirt treatment.
At my local Burger King, both bathrooms are larger than the break room and office combined. And they are single occupancy! I have no clue why.
These are great, but all the (current) top comments stole the show 🤣🤣 nearly pissed myself
how? how do people make these and not realize how crappy they are?
You'd be surprised. I travel often for work and see horrible designs almost every where I go, especially in public bathrooms.
Load More Replies... For the bizzarro housing designs, I never understood how one can build stairs that make zero sense and the builders are like "Yep, job done!" Like, are the builders being paid by the designer to build it exactly to the letter, no questions asked?
I think the "builders" are being paid in beer and weed and they consumed both before doing their work.
Load More Replies... A tobacco company decided to rebrand one of their products just before the pandemic. Originally, they were going to call it Red Flow and as a woman, I cracked up 🤣 I think someone must have cottoned on because when it was released, it was named Flow Red instead 😂
Can't figure out how to post a picture so I will just describe it.. While shopping I came across a parachute that attaches to your waist to put drag while running. The picture on the front of box shows someone using it on a rooftop giving the impression that it could save your life if you were to fall while running on rooftops. Then you turn it over and read the Warning: This is to be used Only as shown/illustrated/described.
A local health insurance agency (Independent Health) has as their slogan "we'll give you the red shirt treatment". Which is meaningless on it's own, they show their staff wearing red shirts, but that still doesn't mean anything. If you're at all familiar with Star Trek, you know that a red shirt is the hapless security officer that is the first one to die. Please don't give me the red shirt treatment.
At my local Burger King, both bathrooms are larger than the break room and office combined. And they are single occupancy! I have no clue why.
