Sometimes, a design comes along that is so smart and so clever that it makes us wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Don’t worry, we can’t all be genius designers.
However, if you appreciate a good design (and really, who doesn’t?), you’ll want to take a peek at some of these brilliant ideas. It’s only natural to want to take credit for them.
This bench at an airstrip
If you look at this bench from the right angle, it looks exactly like a plane. Neat, huh? I’m not sure I would have even noticed if someone hadn’t pointed it out to me.
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This elevator arrow
This almost looks like an ancient rune, but it’s really a stylized elevator arrow. Different segments of the design light up whether you’re going up or down.
These snowflakes at LAX
At first, this sign at LAX just looks festive and wintery. On closer inspection, you’ll notice that the snowflakes are made of little planes. Woah!
The Little Caesars mascot
How did I never notice this before?
If you look closely at the mascot’s toga, the design at the bottom are the letters “L” and “C.” Where do people come up with this stuff?
British currency
If you gather each coin of British currency, you can arrange them to form a shield.
This is some Illuminati-level design right here. How did anyone even realize this in the first place?
This bookcase
From far away, this bookcase looks like a maze, but the shelves spell out “Read Your Bookcase.” I might just need to pick up one of these for my home.
This gas station logo
This one looks deceptively simple. “What’s so special about it,” you ask? The font mimics the look of roads on a map. Pretty cool if you ask me!
This lamp
When you turn on this deer-shaped lamp, the light creates the illusion of antlers.
It’s like watching Bambi grow up right before your eyes — all you have to do is flick the switch!
This bus ad
Bus ads are truly an underappreciated art form.
I’ve seen some clever ones in the past, but nothing like this. I love how the wheel of the bus was incorporated into the design.
This tissue box
Whales are one of my favorite creatures, so I might need to buy one of these tissue boxes for myself. When you grab a tissue, it looks like water spraying out of the whale’s blowhole.
This bar logo
In case you missed it, this bar is named, Gecco (it’s located in Germany).
Obviously, you have to have a unique logo for a unique name like that. Props to whoever designed this.
This cigarette carton
This design is clever, but also a little scary. It definitely gets the message across that smoking can have negative effects on your oral health and hygiene.
This mural
I love a design that is cool and functional. In this case fire extinguishers, which need to be visible and accessible, were included as a part of this under-the-sea mural.
These earbuds
This one is pretty obvious, but cool nonetheless. The earbuds are placed in the shape of a musical note. I guess that’s in case you had any doubt about their use.
These avocados
Since picking the perfect avocado is an art, this package includes two ripened ones to enjoy now, and two unripened ones to enjoy later. Holy guacamole!
This oat milk carton
If you made the switch to oat milk, you’ll be happy to know that this is an environmentally-friendly milk alternative. This carton goes one step further by telling you the product’s climate footprint right on the carton.
These bags of coffee
The design of this coffee’s owl mascot changes from bag to bag depending on the intensity of the roast. I definitely need the bag with that wired owl on it.
These hoppy lamps
These hop-shaped lamps were spotted at a local brewery. I’ll cheers to that!
This garbage box for pizzas
If you’ve ever struggled to cram your pizza box into the recycling, you may want to ask your city to invest in some of these smart disposal bins.
This water bottle
At the end of the day, even though this glacier water bottle is not the most functional design, it’s still cool. See what I did there?
These socks
When placed side-by-side together, these hiking socks form a topographic map. Just don’t try to actually use it for hiking — it’s for design purposes only.
This stacking box
The way these bottles and their respective boxes stack together is actually pretty clever if you think about it. That is some efficient packing there.
This candy package
Not only is this design clever, but it’s also really cute. The two white candies make up the body of the panda, while its face and paws are printed on the wrapper. I love it!
This bookend
The force is strong with this Yoda-inspired bookend. I’m not even a huge Star Wars fan and I still want one of these for my shelves.
