Not every bad design is maliciously formulated with the intent of ruining your day. It just feels like that sometimes.
Regardless, whether something was designed by someone who’s oblivious, bad at their job, or someone who’s just a straight-up jerk , bad designs have a way of standing out like a sore thumb.
“Someone from overseas gifted me a collector’s set of The Godfather for Christmas … which only served to prove human greed.”
I’m sure the history of region locks on DVDs and blu-rays is long and fascinating, but it still feels like a totally anti-consumer move.
“1% difference.”
This isn’t really about the side of the debate you fall on. It’s about misleading bar graphs. I mean, just look at this. The ‘no’ bar is four times bigger than the ‘yes’ bar, even though there’s only a one percent difference.
“The definition of torture.”
When you’re taking work-mandated training, it always feels good to hit your stride and start breezing along. It isn’t a thrill, exactly, but it’s nice. Thrill or not, though, the state of California wants to put a stop to your progress.
“Keurig sensor blocks your brew unless it’s ‘K-cup compatible,’ aka has scannable foil. Slap on an old foil to a 3rd party cup and suddenly no issue.”
The prospect of fooling your coffee machine with a fake bar code, all so you can add hot water to coffee grounds, feels vaguely dystopian.
“Taco pizza .. but only if you have all ingredients at home. (The picture on the box is only a ‘visual serving proposal’ it says on the back).”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a frozen pizza that identifies itself in such a fraudulent way. Just be honest and call it a cheese pizza.
“Has this person ever heard of a subdomain?”
The whole point of putting your URL in plain sight like this is so people will visit it, I assume. But I’m not sure anyone has ever successfully navigated to this dumpster fire of a URL.
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“Just so we’re all clear, this man has cracked open a child and is now wearing its insides on his head, correct?”
I’ve bought these same M&Ms and thought nothing of the packaging art, but after reading this description, I’m absolutely chilled to the bone.
“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.”
Can you imagine being stuck at this intersection? No red for stop, no green for go. Just white…for snow.
“The sign telling us where our room is.”
These hotel wayfinding signs always throw me for a bit of a loop, and that’s when they actually make sense. In situations where they just orphan a room with no explanation, it’s hard to know where to start.
“I think I’ve found it, the worst expiration date ever.”
If you hang onto this for two years, you can be absolutely certain that it’s expired. Until that point, though, it’s a total guessing game. How is this even legal?
“Cherry on top of the road.”
I’m sure, or maybe I’m just hoping, that this is a temporary situation. But I can easily see this ripping out the bottom of someone’s car if they passed over it in poor lighting.
“The buttons on this TV.”
I love how the buttons are in pairs, but the actual button assignments have absolutely nothing to do with said pairs. Just put menu and input together, then the channel and volume buttons together. Simple, right?
“The maze they gave us after donating blood has no escape.”
I wonder if this is a genuine oversight and the maze was supposed to have an exit, or if this is just a way to play tricks on lightheaded blood donors.
“Guys I found an app which rents ice ships.”
This is a sign for apprenticeships, right? I’m pretty sure it is. That said, I can’t rule out the possibility that it’s advertising an app that, uh, rents…ships like the Titanic, I guess?
“When I almost bought shirts but was afraid of how they would smell.”
Five tank tops for thirteen bucks? For that kind of deal, you’d expect these shirts to have some kind of horrible flaw, which it seems they just might have. It’s a real shame.
“A DIY shower I saw while house hunting.”
Doing it yourself is such a wholesome, pure idea: learn to do the job, giving yourself valuable skills and saving money in the process. Unfortunately, horror stories like this are often the end result.
“The way this hiring sign hides the ‘Earn Up To… an Hour.'”
It’s always appreciated when a job posting tells you what you can expect to make if you’re hired. I suppose this now hiring sign technically falls into that category, but I still can’t appreciate the wording.
“Broken leg? No worries, the doctor has a gun!”
You’ve just gotta love these dollar store playsets that throw everything under the sun into the same package. This is a doctor’s kit, so naturally it includes a gigantic tooth and two different guns.
“Congrats, you won the chance to experience what getting fired feels like.”
Sometimes, even if it’s unpaid, time off can be a glorious thing. Still, it seems like kind of a hollow prize to win. You’ve won some free time, but it comes at the expense of not being paid.
“My bread was wrapped in paper, the same color and texture as bread crust. I had to spit it out.”
When you accidentally bite into the wrapper of what you’re eating, it can throw the whole experience off. How are you supposed to trust a sandwich that’s already betrayed you once?
