37 Epic Design Fails That You’ll Find Hard To Believe Actually Happened

Genius designers are obviously made, not born – that’s the thought that’s likely to pop into your head after scrolling through the popular subreddit Crappy Design. Here you can find the most artistically deprived and esthetically sinister design fails, which will have you wondering just how on Earth any of these product design ideas were allowed to get made.

Obviously, not everyone was meant to be an artistic virtuoso, but these epic fails are so ‘out there’ and impractical that it’s hard not to judge them while rolling on the floor laughing. Here are the bad designs that we think are the most interesting and the funniest. So scroll down, upvote your favorite funny photos and let us know if you’ve seen designs worse than these! And in case you’re still hungry for some funny fails from backward-handed designers, check out more of Bored Panda’s lists here, here, here, here, and here.

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#1 The Cat Just Trapped Me In The Bathroom By Opening A Drawer

© Photo: LaztheFox

#2 Sign At A Local Beach

© Photo: joefife

Bored Panda reached out to Crappy Design’s community to learn a bit more about the subreddit. “The original motivation for the subreddit was to point out crappy designs. Nowadays, most subscribers probably come here for entertainment. However, it is common to have meaningful discussion here on why or why not something is crappy design,” the subreddit’s moderators explained.

They also added that “the subreddit was created 8 years ago. Currently, there are 1.7 million subscribers with over 2 million page views per month. It is very popular.”

While looking through the pictures, some of us are sure to be thinking that we could have done a far better job designing these things than the people who made them. The ‘Crappy Design’ subreddit’s members most likely think the same.

#3 My School Blocked A Website Because It Was Labeled As Education

© Photo: User

#4 Take My Honey

© Photo: mrq33

According to researcher and author Don Norman, there are principles of good design which help people evaluate whether a product is a boon or a bust. For example, Norman believes all good designs are innovative and push the boundaries of what an object means to us. Naturally, well-designed objects also have to be useful, beautiful to look at, easy to understand and uncluttered in how they look.

#5 The Circle Of Life

© Photo: LogicLost

#6 Almost Broke My Leg

© Photo: Landash

Furthermore, Norman explains in his book ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ that good design means being honest and upfront about what the object does.

#7 A New Park Opened In My City, Pretty Lovely, And This. Buttcleaner3000

© Photo: XmeDavid

#8 I Bought A Billboard To Promote My Business And They Screwed Up The Formatting

© Photo: bencahn

Also, objects should be long-lasting, environmentally friendly, and well-designed to the tiniest detail. Finally, products shouldn’t be over-designed.

#9 Crystal Furniture Set That Looks Like Raw Meat

© Photo: User

#10 The Packaging Of Lol Dolls

© Photo: Nicoledhearted

The Interaction Design Foundation explains that bad designs are overloaded with information and force the user to do more work than is necessary. Akshayta Rao writes that we all intuitively notice badly designed items but find it difficult to explain why good designs are, well, good. According to her, a well-known example of bad design would be USB cables. She’s right because we’ve all tried plugging them in the wrong way more than once. Some of us maybe even hundreds of times.

#11 So Proud Of My Country

© Photo: User

#12 Was Worried About Privacy, So I Asked If They Could Put A Door Up To The Men’s Change Room. Problem Solved

© Photo: YonoJ

What do you think about these principles of good and bad design? Do you agree with them? Which things in this list of crappy designs do you think are the worst offenders? Let us know!

#13 Don’t Wake Anybody Up If You’re Exiting The Motel During A Fire!

© Photo: Coffee4MySoul

#14 Who Thought Of This?

© Photo: Zvws

#15 This Resculpted Head Of Baby Jesus

© Photo: User

#16 I Normally Enjoy Irony, But Not This Time

© Photo: fernguts

#17 My Original Post Was Removed Because Everyone Thought The Backpack Was Real. Here’s Another Angle That Shows That The Bag Is Part Of The Design And Is Blocking The Phone Number

© Photo: User

#18 The Peas Are Upside Down…

© Photo: thegregorious

#19 Me And My GF Were Struggling With This Maze We Got When Watching The Pikachu Movie. We Checked The Solution In The Back And They Draw Through A Wall

© Photo: amuehleder

#20 This Pillow At My Grandparents House

© Photo: _smoofie_

#21 Hood On vs. Hood Off

© Photo: m_delacour

#22 Let’s Go Paperless

© Photo: User

#23 Cozy Seats In Belgium

© Photo: Koekoeksklok88

#24 This Bread Packaging That Makes It Look Like It Is Moldy

© Photo: chmiiller

#25 When You Get Lost Thanks To Google Assistant

© Photo: alex2003super

#26 Reason Why You Should Be Careful In Using Such Type Of Chair. You Need To Make Sure You Got A Good Quality

© Photo: FiazAhmadOfficial

#27 No, I Don’t Think I Will

© Photo: _Kadmus

#28 Totally-Nailed-It

#29 Ah Thats What I Want My Toilet To Look Like. Like Someone Peed All Over It

© Photo: dawidoxus

#30 “Lets Just Make Our Plates Look Like They Haven’t Been Washed In 4 Years”

© Photo: User

#31 2nd Birthday Badge Potentially A Choking Hazard

© Photo: Mozzarella_Firefox

#32 Hungary 101

© Photo: User

#33 Why Is The Ocean Filling Up With Plastic?

© Photo: Ac_50

#34 The Way They Cut The Carpet To Make This Door Open Instead Of Just Cutting The Door. (Found In Basement Of Newly Bought House)

© Photo: mattrowskayaks

#35 How… How Are You Supposed To Sleep With A Light In Your Face?

© Photo: AGenericGuyNamedSeth

#36 Hey, Look!

© Photo: User

#37 Fashion Is Evolving

© Photo: girolski07

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