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 ...

Some design fails don’t just miss the mark; they look like they were approved by a committee that actively disliked the idea of “good.” The worst part is that most of them aren’t complicated mistakes.

Some designs miss the mark by a little, but these miss by a mile. You know the feeling: you reach for a handle that isn’t a handle, climb stairs that end in a wall, or read a label that argues with ...