Funny

Somebody Got Paid for These Design Fails, and Somebody Else Earned It

Thunder Dungeon Staff Nov 06, 2026 08:00 AM EST

Some products make me ask who approved this, and others make me ask why I don’t own one yet. Today the design fails and design wins share a ring, and the first contender is already disqualified.

Gluten free cookie whose label proudly admits the product contains gluten, a perfect design fail.

A gluten free cookie that contains gluten is just a cookie with a confession. Stick around, because for every label like that, somebody else built something so smart I wanted to stand up and clap.

Gray cat-shaped stair runner rug mimicking a flattened cartoon cat sliding down wooden stairs. — Finally, a rug that knows how I feel after a flight of stairs.
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Italy bookend featuring an Eiffel Tower cutout above a sketch of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. — Save

Lift correctly box label whose icon shows a back-wrecking posture, one of the funnier design fails. — The arrows are pointing at where it will hurt.
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Magazine cover with a smiling executive and blue circles around unfortunate letter placements in the headline. — Save

Blue promotional pen printed with a short slogan that reads very badly without context. — Save

Vet sign about heartworms in dogs, illustrated with a cat, one of today's design fails. — The cat would like to speak with legal.
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Children's product display reading iDrink Kids in a way that looks like I Drink Kids. — Save

Glamorous lash academy poster on a crumbling, peeling wall, an unlucky entry in design fails. — Save

Shrink-wrapped water bottle pack whose crumpled plastic forms a sad, melted looking face. — Hydration has never looked this personally betrayed.
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Window bars slicing a smiling family photo into strips, one of the eerier design fails. — Save

Gentleman Warrior Sensei book cover with a karate stance, gold watch, and classic car. — Save

Handwritten cardboard sign reading graphic design department taped to a plain wooden office door. — The design team asked for a budget. This was the budget.
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Cotton candy flavored Peeps box showing speckled pink marshmallow chicks, one of the stranger design fails. — Save

Dental poster asking about brushing today, featuring a smiling cartoon tooth wearing a fig leaf. — Save

Clever measuring scoops shaped like their fractions, from a full circle down to a quarter. — Finally, math I can see.
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Coffee mug with a built-in drip catcher, solving one of the oldest design fails. — Save

Kitchen island with a built-in pet station, two steel bowls and a dedicated water faucet. — Save

Playing cards where a sketched dog wanders across each card, leaving clubs like paw prints. — Save

Bag of walnuts packaged with a squirrel face sleeve whose paws hug the netting. — Nobody has ever looked this serious about snacks.
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Vintage perfume bottles shaped like peeled orange slices, a gorgeous win among the design fails. — Save

Suitcase handle with a built-in digital scale showing the bag's weight before the airport. — Airline fees just lost their favorite surprise.
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Yellow wet floor caution sign shaped like a giant banana peel beside a busy pool. — Save

Wooden grandfather clock with its middle twisted like a ribbon, a stunning bit of woodworking. — Time flies, and apparently it also does yoga.
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Soy sauce dish that reveals a torii gate when filled, beating the design fails. — Save

Tree stump lamps glowing through their natural cracks along a dark wooded garden path. — Save

Backyard fire pit shaped like the Death Star, glowing orange between two wooden chairs. — That's no moon, that's s'mores.
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Baby Groot planter sprouting leafy green plants, a cheerful palate cleanser after the design fails. — Save

Cat figurine holding two wireless microphones above its head like a tiny triumphant karaoke star. — Two mics, zero stage fright.
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Wall-mounted shoe dryer with flexible hoses blowing warm air into several pairs of sneakers. — Save

DEEP FERAL NEED FOR ANTIQUE TRINKETS T-SHIRT

“Whole Sylvania is Trans?” Vampire Meme T-Shirt

Inaudible Nerd Breathing Minimalist Graphic Tee

My favorite fails are the ones where you can feel the meeting that approved them. Somebody covered a window with a happy family photo, let the bars slice them into strips, and everyone nodded. The graphic design department made its own door sign out of cardboard and tape, which is a you had one job moment and a cry for help at once. I’m not judging, I once labeled a moving box as kitchen stuff and packed it full of shoes.

Then the wins show up and make me feel lazy in my own home. A mug that catches its own drip is the kind of clever design that makes me resent every cup I’ve ever owned. Half of these clever inventions I’d buy tonight, and the other half I’d buy and then tell guests I designed myself.

What I love about fails and wins is that they come from the same place: somebody trying. One person tried and printed a cookie label that betrays the cookie. Another tried and turned a tree stump into a lamp. Most of us live somewhere in the middle, proud of a shelf that only leans a little.

Somewhere a product manager is still saying it looked fine on the screen.

I went straight from here to 30 Awful Taste but Great Execution Designs No Jury Could Convict, then Construction Fails Are What Happens When Close Enough Gets Promoted to Foreman made me go check my own deck railing. Bring a level, and maybe a helmet.

Yellow wet floor caution sign shaped like a banana peel beside a crowded pool, a clever twist that could pass for one of the design fails.

Who needs to see this?

Send it to the friend who’ll laugh the hardest, or post it for everyone.

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Posted by Thunder Dungeon Staff About the author

Thunder Dungeon Staff is the byline for galleries our team makes together, led by co-founders Roy R. and Phil M. We've been curating internet humor since 2012: finding the funniest memes, pictures and posts, crediting creators wherever we can, and adding our own take. Roy or Phil reviews every post before it goes live.