Design fails are everywhere around us, from relatively innocent ones like poorly designed baths to massive city planning disasters which make everyoneโs life hard. Good design requires a certain dose of skill and ingenuity to make them both practical and interesting but it takes one small oversight to turn the best of designs into a true nightmare.
We all know how annoying it can be to buy a much-advertised product only to find out itโs been poorly designed and barely functional. When that happens we often wonder: โWho approved theseโ? because we canโt wrap our heads around the fact someoneโs actually thought these designs are going to work.
Prepare to be amazed, slightly annoyed, and to have some good laugh while looking at these 70 outrageously bad designs you wonโt believe exist.
1. โMade by Professionalsโฆโ
Imagine youโve entered the toilet and rushed to wash your hands, only to have a water spout aimed at your crotch instead. Thereโd be a million questions as to what happened after you finally gathered the strength to leave the bathroom.


2. Urban planning 101
Urban planning is not an exact science and accidents happen but this is no accident, itโs design fail of epic proportions. Whoever is in charge of public drainage in this city should definitively search for a different job.



3. Quiz failure
If you study hard you will pass the exam โ or a quiz, well in most cases. There are always exceptions when your best is just not enough. Next time you must give 110 percent becaue a mere 100 wonโt do.


4. The gallows
If you thought this is a scene from a horror movie, youโre wrong. Itโs a bizarre and disturbing clothing display design. One thing is certain: this design wonโt leave anyone indifferent.


5. Mutant duck
They may say itโs a duck but we think itโs a horrible mutant that couldโve only been a result of a nuclear disaster. The design is a disaster, of that thereโs little doubt.


6. Someone help the poor animal, itโs bleeding out
This poor platypus looks like itโs been involved in an old-school shootout. We canโt be sure whether it will survive or not.


7. Shoplifting has never been easier
Potential shoplifters would have such a hard time getting around this brilliantly designed device. Letโs hope no one will be tempted to steal Nexium, though. Thatโd be ironic.


8. โParking fee just gotten realโ
The world would be a much better place if everyone just asked nicely. Who could ever disregard a kind reminder such as this?


9. โNot for navigational purposesโ
If Columbus had used a compas like this one, the history of the world would have been radically different. We donโt recommend you use this compas for anything other than decoration, though.


10. Unorthodox Wheelchair Access
It takes a genius to design a wheelchair access automatic door which leads to a staircase. If it was a jokeโฆ we didnโt find it funny.


11. Safety first
Everyone knows how annoying false alarms can be. Thatโs why these folks came up with a simple, yet elegant solution to prevent false alarms: letting you watch as the flames slowly consume your house before they also consume you too.


12. โPut Barbed Wire Across The Top Of The Gate. We Donโt Want Anyone Climbing Over Itโ
Potential tresspasers will immediately get discouraged when they see an obstacle as formidable as this. Unless they simply decide to walk past the fence.


13. Winnie from hell
Toys should not be designed to freak out kids which is what this Winnie will most definitively do. This is probably the crappiest toy design ever.


14. Action man
Hereโs another brilliant example of innovative toy design. Original, multi-functional, and embarassing.


15. Please stop
Whoever thought of this design has definitively got some issues to work out. Moreover, the snowmanโs face looks very creepy.


16. โFor when you want a near death experience every time you use the stairsโ
We get it that some people like fancy stair designs; they can make your home classy and modern-looking. However, this is just a perfect way to break your legs, or worse.


17. Game of numbers
Thereโs really no way of knowing what happened here. It could be a super-complex math equation or a cryptic message someone left. Whatever the case, this is not a kind of elevator weโd want to step in.


18. Brainiac
When they designed this T-shirt they probably did not forsee women would wear it. Or it was simply meant to tell everyone that Putin has a very largeโฆ brain.


19. The power of slogans
Everyone knows that a good slogan is vital for business success. This is just too good to be true, though.


20. A world without Europe
A globe so small canโt possibly have all the details a larger one usually has. Who needs Europe anyway?


21. โI never imagined the Golden Gate Bridge was as bike friendly as it isโ
Keep this in mind next time you feel like you want to take a stroll on the Golden Gate Bridge. Or simply use a bike. Pedestrians are a dying breed.


22. Ingenious passport design
All of you who still despair over how bad they look on their passport photos can now breathe a sigh of relief. Things couldโve been much worse for you, as we can see from this poor womanโs example.


23. A pair of extra legs never hurt nobody
It took us a bit to determine that somethingโs terribly wrong here. One of these girls is a centaur.


24. Period pizza
The designers of this package have forgotten whatโs the proper word order in a sentence. We assume the intention behind it was to win the pizza of the month contest.


25. โDo not leave children unattended at Whole Foodsโ
This gives us creepy vibes, like the stuff youโd usually see in horror movies. The companyโs creative team has some serious thinking to do before making ads like this.


26. Colon relaxer
If you decide to take both, be sure to keep clean sheets nearby for the morning. Youโre going to need them.


27. Clever political poster design
Political posters can be really annoying, especially if thereโs an election around the corner. It doesnโt have to be that way, however. A poster like this will make everyone laugh out loud.


28.Squeaky clean counter
Believe it or not, this is an actual counter design. We donโt know what the people who designed it were thinking.


29. โInsert hereโ
Colonoscopy should generally be left to professionals but you could still try to give yourself one at your own risk. Remember to wear gloves, though. Hygiene first.


30. Building a safer future
Itโs never too early to teach your kid how to use construction tools. Providing your insurance covers disability.


31. Iโm watching you
This is either a sloppy design or a stroke of genius. Would you be comfortable having those, big, glowing eyes starting at you from the rear of the bus? We wouldnโt.


32. Leisure time
We guess this is how protect the wires from overheating in Hawaii. The one obvious problem with that design is that it wonโt last for too long.


33. Cinnamonbun Earrings
Now, this is just unfortunate on so many levels. Donโt get ahead of yourself, though, itโs just sugar glaze. What else could it be?


34. In life and death
Nobody really knows what exactly was the designerโs intention here but it ended up looking like a kind of wedding youโd usually see in horror movies. Thereโs a technique they teach in art schools and itโs called perspective. The designer of this card should try it out.


35. โPut a Braille sign on the Fun Mirrorโ
The people who put this sign on a mirror must have a good sense of irony. Or theyโre just plain mean. Whatever the case, thatโs one horrible idea.


36. โItโs supposed to be a safety pinโฆโ
This is a safety pin is. No pun intended.


37. That makes sense
Do you remember whatโs the big idea behind measurment labels? To make it easier to measure the amount of liquid in a transparent bottle. Well, perhaps this bottle was made for people with X-ray vision.


38. Shoot your pets
What youโre looking at is an invention made specifically for people who got tired of their pets and decided to do something about it. Alternatively, whoever designed this leash had a quite bizarre sense of humor.


39. โLetโs Alphabetically Order The Floor Numbersโ
If youโre looking to get to the eleventh floor, you only need to take one floor by stairs. Laws of physics donโt necessarily apply to floor numbers arranged in alphabetical order.


40. โThis gnome salt shakerโ
Gnomes usually shouldnโt be white, unless you keep them in your backyard and theyโre covered in snow. Here we have just another salty racist gnome whoโs up to no good.


41. No coitus in this park
What on earth couldโve prompted them to put on a fence sign such as this? Weโre afraid to think about it so weโll just leave it at that.


42. โSure boss, the bus has all the seats in placeโ
If they had buses in the Shire they wouldโve looked like exactly like this one. Now we all know how awful Gandalf must have felt inside those Hobbit holes.


43. Lover of rainbows
Rainbows make everyone happy. Some people feel so happy they find themselves unable to control their excitement.


44. Corner face
Nobody can beat Father Time. The aging process was in a hurry here, however.


45. Tonix juice
Letโs stop for a second and imagine youโre really parched and grab the first juice you see in the market. That wouldnโt end well if you grabbed one of these bottles. This is not just bad design, but plain also a public health hazard.


46. โI got you, you little shitโ
Playing hide and seek with a tumor is officially a new medical technique. The stakes are pretty much summed up in the title of Game of Thrones episode. You win or you die.


47. Expert graphic chart
The numbers donโt matter, if you want the bigger half of the pie you should get it, no matter what. Sometimes, a mere 50 percent is not enough to win.


48. โColor the sceneโ
Hereโs a coloring book ideal for kids who arenโt quite willing to engage their creative side. Lord Vader would certainly approve of this coloring book.


49. Better safe than sorry
Latches and locks are necessary to keep our homes safe from unwanted incursions. Burglars will have a field day with locks like this.


50. A thinking poo
Uhm, does a diarrhea medicine really need a mascot? We all know the answer to question is no, especially if it looks like a fresh poo.


51. Weirdest ad campaign ever
The owner of this crematorium has some serious issues to work out. Using creepy memes is no way to promote your business. Itโs not just bizarre but tasteless as well.


52. Original menu
It only makes sense if the menu was designed by a 5-year-old girl. The only thing missing here is the bunnies and unicorns.


53. โBraille behind vending machine glassโ
And the award for the dumbest design of all time goes to whoever put this braile sign behind the glass. There is no excuse for this level of stupidity.


54. Fire stars
Rule number one when it comes to fire safety: use stairs. Rule number two: disregard rule number one in case the people who designed your fire stairs were imbeciles.


55. โSpainโs new shirt looks like it got dirty while eating bolognese pastaโ
Soccer team designers try very hard to come up with a unique T-shirt design that will stand out from all the other teams. This design went a bit too far in that direction.


56. Letโs name the continents
The world just got a brand new continent to replace the old Asia, and itโs called China. Or itโs just a gigantic advertisement campaign by the Chinese.


57. Aim for the window
We hope they have a glass panel or two in reserve. They better make it ten, to be completely safe.


58. Triple A
Weโre sure this school produces only A students. Come to think of it, weโll call them the Triple A Academy committed to uncovering their studentsโฆ talents.


59. Itโs important to support the right cause
You need to take a closer look at this sign to get the idea of what itโs really about. If you donโt, you might easily get the wrong impression.


60. Pistol packinโ mama
Some people love their guns so much they donโt want to go anywhere without them. Guns and mobiles, what would we do without them.


61. Heart fart
When โartโ becomes a โfartโ you know someone hasnโt been paying attention to their advertisement campaign. At least we now know why all the customers giggle as they enter the shop.


62. The monster from the library
This library poster should definitively be included in the list of creepiest ads of all time. You wouldnโt want to see something like this in a dark alley.


63. Who wants ice cream?
Itโs mindboggling that someone actually thought theyโd attract customers with this sign. In fact, they can only achieve the exact opposite. A serious loss of appetite.


64. Doโs and donโts
Letโs not try to make sense out of this sign because thereโs no point. It doesnโt make any sense whatsoever.


65. Crap car design
If this was meant to look like a fire flame design it failed in a spectacular fashion. As it is, it seems like the car enging has diarrhea.


66. Time for photo magic
Itโs either a massive photoshop failure or Dr. Evans is a master llusionist. In case the latter is true, Houdini just got some major competition.


67. โMy wife asked me why the fridge was getting warmer after she kept pressing the โcoldโ buttonโ
Sometimes you have to be Einstein to learn how to use fridge interfaces properly. The safest course of action is to avoid touching anything.


68. โThe more you analyse it the worst it getsโ
The fox looks friendly and itโs reading a book and thatโs good enough. Kids arenโt even going to notice those few small defects.


69. Now you see me, now you donโt
When the manufacturer has something to hide from customers they use a white font on a yellow background. It goes without saying that no one would ever bother to read it. The other possible explanation is that weโre looking at a glaring example of dumb design.


70. Poppy
We all feel like this after the Hollidays. Itโs going to pop any second now so letโs just observe a moment of silence. Poppy deserved it.


Please SHARE this with your friends and family.