A side-by-side image showing a Pac-Man-shaped table next to a computer keyboard with a Pac-Man-shaped key.
via Canva

Design blunders can befall the best of us. Sometimes they seem to present in rapid sequence, and before we know it we’ve accumulated this grand hallway of marked failures in the realm of design. Designs are tricky. To bridge the gap between ideation and actual creation of the design is seemingly an unconquerable task for some people. It’s no reason to stop trying though.

1. “My landlord’s ‘carpenter’ hooked us up with this beauty today.”

jamesross801 / Via reddit.com

2. Why is every hotel trying to prevent shower controls?

Illustration of a faucet handle with directional arrows. Blue arrow points left for cold water; red arrow points right for hot water. "On" is indicated at the bottom, "Off" at the top. Background is a textured gray surface.
Active_Honey_700

3. “These directional markers at my local hospital are Kiwi footprints. Unfortunately, bird footprints look like arrows, and they are going the wrong way.”

Floor with brown arrow stickers pointing forward, arranged in two staggered lines. A shadow of a person is visible on the left side of the image.
otiotori

4. “Shoes that look like you always just stepped in dog mess.”

MrBonesMalone / Via reddit.com

5. “It’s supposed to be a P.”

ceeman77 / Via reddit.com

6. “My hotel desk drawer”

i_believe_you_not / Via reddit.com

7. “Guess I’m paying for the upstairs neighbor’s heating.”

Vetegable_Mess5849 / via reddit.com

8. “Arbitrary stairs in the middle of a hallway”

Barbary_Corsairs_ / Via reddit.com

9. “The armrest of my United Airlines seat has flight attendant call buttons. We are only 30 minutes into the flight, and they have already made two announcements not to push the buttons accidentally.”

JHGrove3 / Via reddit.com

10. “Whose brilliant idea was it to put the sleep button here?”

Daniel_XXL / Via reddit.com

11. Maybe not the best design for a side table at a hotel where you place items in the dark before bed.”

A minimalist side table shaped like a semicircle with a triangular base, placed next to a bed with white bedding. A yellow Ethernet cable is plugged into a wall socket above the table. The floor is wooden.
crazy_love_6265

12. “Tiger pattern on my kid’s onesie is actually Leopard.”

Close-up of a baby's white onesie featuring "Detroit Tigers" text. The letters in "Tigers" have a tiger stripe pattern. Below the text, a cartoon tiger wearing a Detroit baseball cap is depicted holding a bat.
u/scorpiosultan/via reddit.com

13. “Squirrel-proof bird feeder.”

A squirrel is inside a bird feeder, eating seeds. The feeder is hanging just outside a window with white frames, and a lush garden is visible in the background. The sunlight illuminates the scene, highlighting the greenery and the squirrel's fur.
u/neumanium/via reddit.com

14. “This two bed hotel room has a window looking directly into the shower.”

A small square window with frosted glass featuring a grapevine design is set in a beige tiled wall. Through the window, a distant view of the outside can be seen, but the focus is on the interior wall and the decorative glass.
u/MattapoisettPatton27/via Reddit.com

15. “They built a light pole in the middle of the road.”

A city street scene showing a few motorbikes and cars at an intersection. A building with white and red stripes is on the left, and a larger building is on the right. The sky is cloudy, and traffic lights and orange cones are visible on the road.
u/first_cry_2088/via reddit.com

16. “This one certainly stands out.”

A spacious kitchen features white cabinets, a stainless steel dishwasher, and a matching side-by-side refrigerator. The tiled floor has a light green pattern. A large window above the sink lets in natural light, and a clock is mounted above the cabinets.
u/proudly_disengaged/via reddit.com

17. “This sign’s design makes it almost indecipherable.”

A street view at night featuring a brightly lit sign above a sidewalk that reads "Atlas" in stylized font. The sidewalk has outdoor tables and chairs, and shops with illuminated signs line the street. The scene reflects a lively, urban environment.
u/ducksinabus/via reddit.com

18. “Which way to the men’s room?”

A hallway with white tiled walls leads to a gender-inclusive and accessible restroom. The wall at the end of the hallway has icons indicating a men's, women's, and wheelchair-accessible restroom. A touchscreen panel is mounted below the icons.
u/billyrougebird/via reddit.com

19. “What’s the caffeine strength?”

A coffee bag labeled "Original Family Blend" with colorful illustrations of playful cats holding coffee cups. Text reads, "Roasted with love in California, USA", "100% Arabica Coffee Ground", "Medium Roast", "Smooth", and "Rich". Caffeine strength is indicated by filled beans.
u/heatwavetothecrowd/via reddit.com

20. “This entire hotel’s room numbers are completely random.”

ChristanTheOne / Via reddit.com

Meet the Writer

Matt has spent over the last 8 years as both a writer and editor, working in Seattle and Brooklyn, where he is now based. He loves escaping the tirelessly fast pace of the “Mad Apple” that is NYC by taking walks and runs through parks where he’s able to catch up on the latest tea about society from the city’s ever chatty, always hungry, occasionally maniacal, pigeons. They always have a lot to say. When he’s not taking his urban nature strolls, or dutifully combing the deepest rabbit holes of the internet to find the content that’s worth sinking your mind’s teeth into, he’s likely holed up at a dark-lit dive bar with a new book and/or some friends, or just as easily he could be on the hunt for the next addition to his steadily growing plant family.

These days Matt’s caught up in trying to provide folks as many vivid glimpses into the days long since passed as he can, through fun and engaging collections of hand-picked vintage photos.