Ever had a moment where you looked at a product and thought, “What were they thinking?” You’re not alone. We believe that we’ve all come across things that seem so poorly designed that you can’t help but wonder if the people behind them ever gave their creations a test run.
Keep reading to discover the wild responses that rolled in. We’ve also reached out toChris Wilson, a product design expert, to get his take on some of the biggest design errors. Scroll down to read the whole interview!
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Any sites with lots of text and ads in between. Scroll down, start reading, then the ad loads and your article shifts down a few inches. Go to click a link but suddenly the ad loads and you click that.One of the biggest reasons I switched from iPhone to Android was so that I could use ad blockers on Firefox.
Pockets on women’s clothing.
Any stove or car with touch screens instead of knobs and buttons.
Chris Wilson shared that he studied Product/Industrial Design as an undergraduate in London. “The university had excellent links with industry and the degree course centered heavily around real-life clients, from well-known companies and brands, setting genuine briefs. There was always a real chance that what we were presenting to our clients may actually make it to production.”Today, Chris mainly teaches Product/Industrial Design. He makes easy-to-understandYouTubevideos that explain advanced design techniques, helping thousands of people around the world. We suggest you visit his channel to pick up some useful design tips and tricks!
Chris Wilson shared that he studied Product/Industrial Design as an undergraduate in London. “The university had excellent links with industry and the degree course centered heavily around real-life clients, from well-known companies and brands, setting genuine briefs. There was always a real chance that what we were presenting to our clients may actually make it to production.”
Today, Chris mainly teaches Product/Industrial Design. He makes easy-to-understandYouTubevideos that explain advanced design techniques, helping thousands of people around the world. We suggest you visit his channel to pick up some useful design tips and tricks!
Faucets that are so short that you can’t fit both hands under them without touching the back of the sink. It’s so infuriating how common this is. I have to contort my hands to use them.Bonus: faucets (most common in public parks and such) that are push activated and last only one or two seconds. Clearly not designed for proper hand washing.
Any device that typically belongs in a bedroom that has an always on LED. I don’t need to see the LED at all times when I am sleeping.
Design plays a crucial role in our everyday lives, from the products we use to the spaces we call home and work. However, it’s not always perfect, and even the most experienced designers can stumble upon design flaws. We were curious to hear about some of the most common design flaws Chris has come across in his career. “The flaw I see most regularly, and maybe it’s something I just can’t unsee anymore, is any feature that suggests it’s the work of a self-indulgent designer,” Chris told us. “When a product stands out from the crowd because of features that are of little benefit to the user, I’m left asking myself why they’re there at all. Some designers like to throw everything into their designs – but why? Usually, the answer is more about themselves than the client or end user.”
Those sliding shower doors with an overlapping section that is impossible to clean without taking the whole door off.
All of the «tear here» markings on coffee packs, juice cartons, etc., mark the strongest/most tear resistant part of the package.
Cereal bags - why are they not zip lock yet?!?!
In the world of design, creating a product that works well and looks great is a true art form. But what are the most important factors that make a product well-designed? According to Chris, it’s simplicity. “Successful designs are those which are simple to manufacture, to understand and use, and to maintain. They have a minimal impact on the environment, in manufacture, in use, and beyond. A well-designed product makes someone’s life a little easier, without being at the expense of someone else. It may be a little cliché, but I always consider the key to be subtraction, rather than addition. Find ways to make your design more simple.”
Facebook. Used to be cool but now its 15 ads in a row and a rant from my friends friend from 3 weeks ago i already read a hundred times
Womens underwear. The part that is supposed to get dirty is never far enough forward to catch what its supposed to catch.
My dishwasher beeps several times loudly when the cycle is done. Loudly enough that you can hear it outside the house. If you don’t open the door, it will beep again 45 minutes later, and every 45 minutes forever until you do so. There is no way to silence this feature or reduce the volume.Apparently there’s no such thing as starting the dishwasher at night and then going to bed in these designer’s minds…
When it comes to designing a new product, finding the right balance between looks, practicality, and ease of use can be a real challenge. Chris shared that it is always a careful mix. He emphasizes that design is often about finding a compromise. “I would put the needs of my client or end-user first and work closely with them to ensure that my ideas and their needs were in alignment. The successful designer will find ways to create an equilibrium. Equilibrium doesn’t have to consist of equally sized parts for balance to be achieved.”
Single ply toilet paper
I had an automatic litter box that was fine for pee but the motor was way too weak to scoop poop and regularly got stuck. Also, poop tended to stick to the tines and make a big mess. I called the (small) company. The rep told me that the box design was tested using water and was never tested in a real life situation with real cats as no one there had a cat. She didn’t understand why this was a problem.
Toys that only have one volume: EXTREMELY LOUD!!!!Whoever makes these does not have kids of their own.
If you’re an aspiring product designer, Chris has some advice for you to avoid common design pitfalls and create more user-friendly products. “Understand the needs of your client and/or end user. Recognize and ensure that the focus is squarely upon them and their needs, not on producing work for your portfolio. Be noticed for your ability to answer the brief and become recognized for the skillful simplicity of your designs.”To learn more about product design, check out Chris’s work onInstagramandYouTube! You can also support him atbuymeacoffee.com!
If you’re an aspiring product designer, Chris has some advice for you to avoid common design pitfalls and create more user-friendly products. “Understand the needs of your client and/or end user. Recognize and ensure that the focus is squarely upon them and their needs, not on producing work for your portfolio. Be noticed for your ability to answer the brief and become recognized for the skillful simplicity of your designs.”
To learn more about product design, check out Chris’s work onInstagramandYouTube! You can also support him atbuymeacoffee.com!
The word “latinx” as a gender-neutral way to refer to Latinos.Whoever came up with that nonsense had never even taken a Spanish 101 course. “Latinx” is simply unpronounceable in Spanish - even a 5yo speaker would know that - and the real gender neutral word would be “latine”, but even that is very rarely usedEdit: stupid spelling
Pots with handles which get burning hot when you heat the pot.
Software drivers for basically any HP printer made in the last three decades
If you’re short and left handed, pretty much everything. Scissors. Grocery aisles. Kitchen cabinets. Pants. knives and forks. Over-the-stove microwave ovens. There is no end …
Kids bubbles where the container is a test tube with a rounded bottom so it can never be set down unless the cap is on
The trunk wont open on some Chevrolet cars if the battery is dead. There is no key hole, or physical release cable.The battery is in the trunk.You can jump it from contacts under the hood, sure, but that’s such an odd design choice to me.
Literally just printers in general. I’d be amazed if anyone here said they’ve had a printer thats always just cooperated and printed with no hassle. It’s always “no” ink, or can’t connect to printer, a jam, a power issue, simply not doing anything, etc.
Dyson vacuum cleaners. They may be great if you live in a pristine, lovely house - but when it’s an old house and you add 4 cats, a dog and 2 children it’s a useless piece of cp where the cleaning head needs to be de-clogged every 10 minutes. And you almost need to be an engineer to disassemble, clean and reassemble it. I hate that f***g piece of trash and am very, very sorry that I sold my reliable old Hoover. I am positive that Dyson and whoever else was involved in creating this masterpiece has never actually had to clean a house. Sucking up pieces of styrofoam at the testing clinics is not a real world example.
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Some road intersections make me wonder if the engineers have actually ever driven a vehicle.
The Apple Mac chargeable cordless mouse. Cos you can’t use it while it’s charging. Dumbasses
Made it and don’t use it? The metaverse
I just bought a waterproof cargo bag for the roof of my car that was fairly expensiveThe Velcro that keeps the zipper protected was just GLUED ON, not stitchedThe very first time I opened the bag all the Velcro came off because the attraction to itself was stronger than the adhesive bond to the vinyl bagIt’s like there was absolutely zero product testing, but I’m sure it was 5 cents cheaper to make it glued rather than stitched. How could something like this have ever been allowed to leave the factory?
My new £1000 washing machine. Does a great job washing clothes and is all singing and all dancing. But all this additional stuff adds complexity and is an absolute bastard to clean. The detergent draw has all this fancy stuff my old didn’t and I just get so much mold growing. Have to take it all apart and clean it so often. It’s so annoying.Edit: everyone telling me to ‘leave the drawer and door open’….yeah I get that. But that’s why I answered the original question. Stupid design that I have to leave the doors open when not in use. It’s dangerous (with kids and cats!) and it gets in the way. Stupid design
Plant pots with non drainage although they look like they did.
Bacon packages. Can I get a ziplock for it? I don’t want to eat 30 pieces of bacon in one sitting.
Most of todays can openers.
The shift on a Nissan Pathfinder. Trying to get it into neutral is like a carnival game. Almost destroyed it trying to enter a car wash.
My refrigerator has a water filter that cannot be changed without turning off the supply… Which is behind the refrigerator. So you have to pull the multi hundred pound fridge (with all the food and such) out to turn the water off before you can change the water filter.. The old Maytag it replaced had no such requirement.
Cardboard tampon applicator
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A lot of birdfeeders i buy are very poorly designed, the seeds get wet or they dont come out. I often wonder where these people live that do design them.
I wager that every coffin maker has never used one.
An app: Duolingo. The people who made it claimed they wanted to make an app that can get you to B2 CEFR level in your target language.One of the creators used it AFTER the app was made (which is a bit sketchy) to learn Spanish. After he finished the course, a reporter asked him ¿Hablas español? (Do you speak Spanish?).He couldn’t understand what he was being asked and asked the reporter to repeat.B2 level. Suuureee, Duo.
The current NHS system. I bet all the ones in charge have private health care.
That weird watermelon slicer tool. Broke the first time I used it.
3/4 of the cheese slicers and other cheese tools for sale.
The Bluetooth app connectivity for my washing machine (Didn’t really want that feature, but it was a last minute substitution).If the wash cycle takes longer than the initial estimate the start time changes rather than the time remaining estimate.I just don’t bother with the app.
American Refrigerators. They don’t fit into your home unless you take the doors off?
Youtubes UI on their website
For actual physical products: all the kids toys that are made with small, detachable parts. Even sticking within age restrictions, a lot of toys aimed at boys can be unnecessarily dangerous. I also thought this could apply to video games, and I’m definitely choosing Pokémon Scarlet/Violet.
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Justė Kairytė - Barkauskienė
Product Design
