Design exists to solve problems—functional ones, aesthetic ones, or both. But sometimes, instead of improving things, it creates even more problems than it fixes. And if you need proof, just look at this subreddit dedicated to design fails, where people share examples that are so bad, they almost circle back to being good.
Bizarre typos, baffling text placements, confusing instructions, questionable interiors, stairs that seem actively out to get you—it’s all here. Scroll down for the full parade and upvote the best ones. Or the worst ones. At this point, there may not be much of a difference.
#1 It's Like A Fun Maze For Blind People!
© Photo: BinaryBible
#2 The Place I’m Staying Has Running Water On Top Of A Cabinet That Doesn’t Have A Sink
© Photo: Carrmann
#3 Transparent Sticker With Writing On Mirror
© Photo: Majestic_Phase3452
#4 I Know It Is Sold By Weight, And Contents May Settle ... But Maybe It's Not The Best Idea To Put The Clear Window In The Middle Of The Package?
© Photo: Pale-Lynx328
#5 Grocery Store Barcode Scanner Was Scanning Its Own Advertised Barcode, So They Had To Cover It With Permanent Marker
© Photo: Troner892
#6 This Building's Billboard Lights Point Straight To My Bedroom
© Photo: Correct_Win_7396
#7 Those Are Five Steps Or More
© Photo: g87a_l
#8 Long Invisible Steps
© Photo: roman_pokora
#9 Which Way To Temple 38? Or Group F? Took Me Half A Day To Figure Out That These Signs Are Both Pointing Straight Ahead
© Photo: -davros
#10 Half Of The Dosage Instructions For Persil Washing Powder Are Printed On The Strip You Tear Off To Open The Box
© Photo: fearville
#11 When You Skip The Typography Section Of Your Groupon Graphic Design Course
© Photo: xkelsx1
#12 Coasters From A Local Designer, But The Sand Is Elevated So The Cups Fall Off
© Photo: Ecstatic-Yak-6016
#13 This "Sudoku" Christmas Tree Decoration Is Clearly A Bingo Card
© Photo: Conorcat
#14 Watched A Dozen People Try To Push This Door Open Today During Brunch
Full disclosure: I tried to push it open, too. The push plate was not a push plate, the door handle is on the right. All they have to do is spray paint that plate black to fix the issue.
Literally every customer who came in pushed the wrong side initially. And to top it off, every sticker and sign on the door is symmetric so there's no hint for which side of the door opens!
Best banana bread pudding French toast in the world, though, so I forgive them.
© Photo: Illustrious_Can_1656
#15 My Local Park Benches Made Of Stainless Steel. Too Cold To Sit On In Winter, Too Hot To Sit On In Summer
© Photo: TheHyperFlame
#16 Austrian Elevators Are Hard To Understand
© Photo: Austrian_printer
#17 The Button For The Third Floor Is Located At The Very Top Of The Elevator Panel
© Photo: [deleted]
#18 The 5 Popo
© Photo: Handsome_Bread_Roll
#19 This Birthday Plate Where The Balloon Strings Just Look Like Hair
© Photo: FtMFandomBoy
#20 Instruction Manual References Parts By Diagram Number, But Diagram Isn’t Labeled
© Photo: TRB4
#21 On The Mcdonalds’ Monopoly Game They Removed The ‘Go To Jail’ Character’s Whistle But Left His Cheeks Blowing
© Photo: SilverApples
#22 Stairway To Heck
© Photo: Catalina_whine_fixer
#23 This Promotional Shot Makes It Look Like The Pump Is Malfunctioning And Causing Major Leakage
© Photo: yaamen
#24 It's Pepper, It's Red, But We Decided To Assign Red To The Cheese
© Photo: morgred13
#25 No Room To Store The Wrench That Comes Outside The Plastic Container As Demo
© Photo: cimocw
#26 Eye Drop Bottle Does Not Note That It Is Eye Drops
© Photo: gachunt
#27 The Buttons To Change Temp On My Fridge
© Photo: MrNobodyX3
#28 Record Label Sumerian Records Uses An Image Of The Sphinx
© Photo: Time4Homework
#29 The Wear On This Sticker Where People Have Pressed It Instead Of The Actual Functioning Button
© Photo: NewNiklas
#30 Which Way Do I Walk?
© Photo: ConsistentLab8661
#31 The Woman Was A Man. And The Girl Was An Adult
© Photo: wtclover
#32 Bathroom And Kitchen Combined
© Photo: JopeliH
#33 Page Folds On Africa In Global Hunger Map In My Textbook
© Photo: Xancrim
#34 Wear No Clothes Sign Is Actually A Penalty Warning
© Photo: Flintloq
#35 My Soul Just Fell Down These Stairs
© Photo: NerdyBirdyAZ
#36 They Proudly Presented The New Logo Of The Austrian Football Association (Öfb)
© Photo: Visual_Fold_7826
#37 Imagine The Logistics And The Cleaning
© Photo: Alpoh1502
#38 Apparently That's A 'C'
© Photo: Firehydrnt
#39 The Words On The Display Of The Marzipan Museum In Germany
© Photo: CottonPendulum
#40 This Was Not A Fun Experience
© Photo: Atkinator1
#41 Our Small Shopping Centre Has Really Good Direction Signs
© Photo: longitudinisx
#42 This Mailbox Speaks For Itself
© Photo: muppetcowboy
#43 Apparently This Is A Promo For A Writer's Festival
© Photo: simsimdimsim
#44 Drano Suggests To Use 1/3 Of A Bottle, But Markings On The Side Are In 1/4 Increments
© Photo: acherion
#45 A Playground Where You Can Get Burned In Summer
© Photo: Sarahsurlalune
#46 Missing Numbers On Kids Height Measurement
© Photo: YourAverageRedRum
#47 If You Ever Wanna Watch Yourself
© Photo: superiorgarlic
#48 My Family Took Me To The Titanic Exhibit For My Birthday
© Photo: That_EngineeringGuy
#49 Hip-Pinching Chairs: I’m A Skinny Guy & These Bang Into My Hip Bones. How Can They Possibly Be Comfortable For Anyone Wider?
© Photo: carlcrossgrove
#50 Safety Is Chimney Check Your Clean
© Photo: JshWright
#51 The Elevator In This Brand New Parking Garage
© Photo: Grsz11
#52 Three Different O Widths Hurts My Brain
© Photo: tfowers
#53 These Leviton Switches Have Raised Lettering That Love Gathering And Keeping Dirt In Them
© Photo: samureyejacque
#54 What Could Go Wrong! (Btw It’s Pitch Black Until You Hit The Light Switch)
© Photo: Potential_Lock_5212
#55 Weird 90° Power Supply Plug That Doesn't Have Enough Clearance To Fit Correctly Into The Intended Outlets. Need To Buy An Extra Cable To Use It
© Photo: DrCyb3r
#56 This Balloon Is 26 Inches Wide. That Is Neither 2 Feet Or 1 Person Tall
© Photo: [deleted]
#57 It’s Definitely “Brugre”, Right?
© Photo: AsPeHeat
#58 H Wha Fun 🎀
© Photo: 7ofeggs
#59 Outdoor Boot Bag For Skiing Pockets Don’t Close So Snow And Rain Can Get In
© Photo: DarkThunder312
#60 I Was Wondering Why My Niece Always Zones Out Halfway Through While Counting On This Toy, Until I Noticed
© Photo: d-the-luc
#61 Infinity - Spotted In The Wild
© Photo: bigusdikus2
#62 This TV That Is Way Too Far From The Bed And Obscured By The Wardrobe @ A Scotland Hotel
© Photo: headshotpaul
#63 I’m No Dogologist But…
© Photo: Blackbyrn
#64 My Pants Pockets Are Only As Deep As The Bottom Of The Opening, So Anything I Put In Them Will Fall Out
© Photo: Knopes
#65 Public Notice Where The Font Is The Main Obstacle To Being Informed
© Photo: Pitiful-Bluebird7951
#66 Please Excuse The Mess Made, Memories Are Being
© Photo: Zendo7777
#67 Mmmm Colour-Blind Simulator
© Photo: PotatoPotatoApple
#68 Ritz’s Guide To A Serving Size
© Photo: Reddit-Sama-
#69 Do You Want A Zero Protein Diet? Look No Further
© Photo: Kayonji02
#70 Lunchbox Company Uses A Woman Making Juice To Show Their Product Is Hand Washable
© Photo: PURPLZMM2
#71 I Guess We Dont Need Spacing Between Go On
© Photo: Blue_Storybook
#72 The Emojis Make The A’s Look Like O’s
© Photo: 92233720368547758080
#73 This Odd One Out Puzzle Doesn't Have An Odd One Out!
© Photo: easywrite
#74 Bathroom Of An Appartment I Was Viewing For Rent
© Photo: chaoze50
#75 This Company’s URL Can Be Any Combination Of These Letters. Guess Which One It Is!
© Photo: darlzC
#76 No Pain No Paizza
© Photo: Violet_Walls
#77 Regularly Updated Billboard Near My House
© Photo: macdaibhi90
#78 Nothing Says "Buy Our Seed" Like 50% Of The Ear Being Undeveloped
© Photo: McChiser
#79 Eggnog Puke Cake
© Photo: Terytha
#80 Good Luck Plugging Your Charger Into This Outlet On The Hungarian National Railway
© Photo: GotHelpGiveHelp
#81 Kids Lingerie 🤔 Not A Good Design
© Photo: slysam69
#82 The Dice Shaker That Comes With Yahtzee Is Exactly Two Dice Wide And Has An Internal Edge That The Dice Constantly Get Stuck Behind
© Photo: Kimos
#83 Sweet Home Home!
© Photo: Worldly-Return-9417
#84 Because Potty Training Needs More Splatter-Producing Elements
© Photo: parothed28
#85 Media Buttons On Razer Keyboard Are Unlit
© Photo: Rouven-Dillinger
#86 An Advertisement In My Office
© Photo: dominic4443
#87 I Just Bought This Thinking It Was Washing Detergent. Nowhere Does It Say Its Fabric Softener
© Photo: Geofferz
#88 What Was Even The Plan Here?
© Photo: Mundane-Low7125
#89 I’m Not A Design Bruh, But I Couldn’t Even Read This
© Photo: HappySheep84
#90 Impossible To Read "What Are We" Without Knowing What You're Trying To Read
© Photo: Yukki64
#91 In The Bathroom At A School I Work At…
© Photo: thatfood
#92 Spotted At Seaworld, They Used A Y Shape To Represent A W. So Now It Reads "The Yhale Shop" Shop Instead Of "The Whale Shop"
© Photo: gruggiwuggi5
#93 You Switch It Off By Positioning The Rod Exactly In The Middle, No Locking, Free Movement In Any Direction, Opposite To Switch It On
© Photo: eXus_Nerubis
#94 Curb To Trip On Between The Sidewalk And Crosswalk
© Photo: HappyChandler
#95 Small Gap In Phones Case, Broke First Time I Dropped It
© Photo: Zazarian
#96 This Plaque Is Having An Identity Crisis
© Photo: Mr_Kek
#97 This Birthday Card I Saw In A Store In Switzerland For $5
© Photo: biwook
#98 Happy New Year Everybody!
© Photo: Greainy
#99 This Bingo Card From The Female Lead That Was Definitely Designed By Someone Who Has Never Played Bingo
© Photo: haleylovesvirgil
#100 The Pre-Cutting On The Paper LEGO Bags Is Pointless
© Photo: TomtomXDD
#101 So Is It Off Or Set To 60 Watts?
© Photo: jbosh999
#102 Ah Yes, Let's Just Extend The Railing For Some Reason
© Photo: acumen94
#103 My Friend Just Had A Baby And She Has This Sign Above Her Crib
© Photo: Strange_Occasion_370
#104 Belgian Urban Design
© Photo: laferrarinz
#105 These Storage Steps In A Homemade Tiny Home Look Like An Accident Waiting To Happen
© Photo: ThorWinchester
#106 What Good Is The Design If The Words Aren't Legible?
© Photo: GreatestOneInTheSky
#107 The Math On The Back Of This Cereal Box, Is The Polar Opposite Of The Truth
© Photo: slammahytale
#108 The Official Coat Of Arms Of Zambesia, An Unrecognized Region In Southern Africa Striving For Independence
© Photo: meliax
