We’ve all heard about crappy design, something that turns a blind eye to user-friendliness, logic and common sense, aesthetics, and people in general. We’re talking billboards, TV ads, product packaging and product design, websites and apps, you name it.
The phenomenon of crappy design is that no matter how much our marketing strategies and advertising techniques have evolved in the past decades, it still finds its place in our daily lives. Check out some examples of crappy design in Bored Panda’s previous features here, here and here.
This time, we are taking a step further. Sometimes the design is so annoying, senseless and defunct that it seems like the brands are doing this deliberately or at least without shame. There’s even a whole corner of reddit dedicated to cases “when a*** design things.”
With a whopping 2.9 million members, the community pokes fun at the mentality that “nothing comes before profit, especially not the consumer.” Below, we wrapped up some of the evilest designs, so let us know what you think of them in the comments!
#1 Ah Station Design
Image credits: masteromatic
#2 Taxes
Image credits: MayoBoy69
#3 Appstore For You
Image credits: reddit.com
Bad design can be found everywhere, from the products we use every day to the websites we visit. Poorly designed products can be difficult to use, causing us to waste time and energy. They can also be dangerous, as faulty product or packaging designs can lead to accidents.
Meanwhile, websites with bad design can be hard to navigate, preventing us from finding the information we need. They can also be visually unappealing, making us less likely to return. At the same time app can have a very bad user experience which means people will be reluctant to use it. From confusing navigation to cluttered layouts, anyone can spot a very poor design.
#4 Brand New Protein Powder, Not Even Filled Half Whey
Image credits: Furious_Flames
#5 Screw You Pinterest
Your content fills up and pollutes the search engine results yet people can’t even view your bulls**t user-submitted content without signing up for a damn account. Going to add to you to my Personal Blocklist so you don’t appear in my searches and waste my time anymore.
Image credits: ZYn9Po4u
#6 Felt Like This Sub Would Appreciate This Statement
Image credits: the_gaming_princess
Jerk designs seem to take a step further than simply bad designs and come across as downright unethical and immoral. They snuck their way into the products and services we consume, and sometimes we don’t even notice them.
According to Danny Sapio, the lead product designer at Method and cofounder of Confettihabits.com, shrinkflation is a classic case of less product and more profit. “Companies use this tactic to discreetly sell less of a product at the same price that it was before.”
Moreover, Sapio argues that “companies can do this through labeling by displaying “FAMILY SIZE” or “PARTY SIZE” despite it being the same amount as the regular item.” For us, the unsuspecting shoppers, it’s something that’s really easy to miss.
#7 Trashy Company
Image credits: Smartix04
#8 Cashing In On That *cough*
Image credits: paris_christine
#9 Hellofresh. If I Don’t Need To Call To Make Orders, I Shouldn’t Need To Call To Unsubscribe
Image credits: goldollazz
Another great example of jer design practices is the use of lethal enforcers. They require the user to take the action that the company wants before they can do what they intend to do.
“Lethal enforcers are essentially a way that companies gatekeep the decision making for users. Instead of giving users a free choice, the company decides for the individual the decision that should be made then makes that their only choice,” Sapio explained.
An example of a lethal enforcer is when you want to write a review on Yelp but have to download the brand’s app first. “Or when a company suppresses relevant search results to display sponsored products or content.”
#10 I Chose The Bottle Because A Tube Wasn’t Enough! This Trojan Trickery Is An Abuse Coming From A Brand With Recognition
Image credits: PoorGeno
#11 Really?
Image credits: EveningBluebird
#12 This Design Pisses Me Off Every Single Day
Image credits: tazzzzzzzz0
Sapio also urges to look out for one of the trick questions known as the loaded questions. They take an advantage of our good nature. “We assume that we don’t need to read the entire question because we’ve already collected the information we need to answer it.”
#13 I Want My Money Back
Image credits: PPIIKKAACCHHUU
#14 Disney Leaves The Inside Of Their $6 Icecream Hollow
Image credits: ThatTheoGuy
#15 So It Was A Lie
Image credits: Droyk
Another very shady design practice is throttling. “Throttling is when a company intentionally downgrades the service or product with the hopes that the customer upgrade. This is different than forced obsolescence because the product still works; it’s just much slower and shittier than it used to be,” the product designer explained.
It turns out that even giant brands like Apple have been found guilty of this. Apple has settled a class-action lawsuit over its practice of slowing down older iPhones, agreeing to pay up to $500 million to impacted consumers.
“Another example is ‘unlimited’ data providers that sneakily slow down internet speeds once they pass a certain threshold of data usage,” Sapio concluded.
#16 This Mcdonalds Menu
Image credits: SkepticHQ
#17 Natural Is A Trademark
Image credits: yaserafriend
#18 Bought These Sticky Notes Cause I Thought The Gold Border Was Nice
Image credits: KarmasDoll
#19 Amazon Prime Video Doesn’t Tell You If A Show Is Unavailable In Your Country Until After You Subscribe To Amazon Prime
Image credits: Iescaunare
#20 Dislikes Helped You Know If A Video Was A Scam, Misleading Or Had False Information
Image credits: LeuxD
#21 Youtuber Gets Every Single Video On His Channel Copyright Claimed Despite Having The Rights To All The Music In His Videos
Image credits: coolethanps2
#22 Cup Design That Makes The Drink Look Like It Has Actual Fruit
Image credits: St-Paerikus
#23 Unremovable Ads On My $2,500 Samsung Smart TV
Image credits: BrownLandlord
#24 Both Weigh 500g But The Green One Is In A 30% “Bigger Bag More To Share”
Image credits: AApickleAA
#25 Spending $175 On A Textbook Only To Receive A 2 Inch Stack Of Unbound Papers. Binder Sold Separately!
Image credits: FrenchiToasti
#26 They Replaced Half The Mirrors In My Local Shopping Mall’s Bathroom With Advertising Boards!
Image credits: BradleyZ17
#27 The Sticker Was A Lie
Image credits: Doophie
#28 Literal Hell For Budget Flyers – Standing Seats
Image credits: DistinctScene0
#29 The Fact That You Can’t Uninstall Facebook On Certain Phones
Image credits: Dark_Inferno98
#30 Heard We Are Having A Rigged Democracy Binge
Image credits: twitch870
#31 Hey This Hotel Room Is Only $99 A Night, Great Deal!!!
Image credits: TheNatureLover
#32 My Chinese “Smart TV” Plays A 15 Second Chevrolete Commercial Every Time I Turn It On
Image credits: MuayThai1985
#33 My Work Place’s ‘Low Plastic, Recyclable Eco-Pens’ Have A Secret At Their Core
Image credits: dwarvencrap
#34 My Age Preferences Are There For A Reason, Tinder
Image credits: AppleSlize
#35 Perfectly Fine Lighters With No Way To Refuel Them… Planned Obsolescence Is Asshole Design And Terrible For The Environment
Image credits: redditUserError404
#36 Keurig Sensor Blocks Your Brew Unless It’s “K-Cup Compatible”, Aka Has Scannable Foil. Slap On An Old Foil To A 3rd Party Cup And Suddenly No Issue
Image credits: OfficialUNESCO
#37 As**ole School System Charging Kids For Lunch And Then Blaming Parents
Image credits: quazziwazzi
#38 They Decided To Completely Cover Their Tenants’ Windows With Ads Because Who Needs Natural Light And Fresh Air?
Image credits: jadondrew
#39 Such A Great Deal!
Image credits: Guevarra25
#40 My Printer Just Did A Firmware Update And No Longer Recognizes My Third-Party Ink
Image credits: sumofty
#41 Food Delivery Service That Tells You “Someone Is At The Door! Okay We Lied”
Image credits: kmartshoppr
#42 Designed For Dissuading The Homeless. Literally Just Uncomfortable For Everyone Else
Image credits: Machdame
#43 Shrinkflation Used By Cadbury To Literally Cut Corners. The Bottom Chocolate Bar Is More Than 8 Percent Smaller
Image credits: Flying_Dutchmen_13
#44 8% Alcohol Or
Image credits: CucumberWizard
#45 I Wish My Professors Graded Like This
Image credits: I_POST_ON_THE_DONALD
#46 Facebook, I’m Beyond Words
Image credits: Pinoy_Bro
#47 5$ Pen Size vs. Ink
Image credits: deleted-mayham
#48 Press Dismiss To Update This Printer
Image credits: disintegore
#49 Tenerife Airport Shows Ads On The Flight Information Screens Every Few Minutes (For At Least A Minute), So If You’re Unlucky You Have To Wait Before Knowing Which Gate To Go To
Image credits: RealTechnician
#50 F**k You Vegas
Image credits: Examotate
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Author: Mindaugas Balčiauskas