We’ve seen some great designs so far in 2022, but we’ve also seen terrible design failures. From an ill-placed joystick to an unintentionally gory logo and oddly missing movie title, we’ve seen plenty of oversights and mistakes, even from Apple – usually the epitome of polished design. .
Whether it’s product design or logo design, success requires lots of iterations and seeking lots of second opinions. And even with that, there’s still the potential for a lot of people to be unhappy, especially on Twitter, where people are unforgiving of even the smallest design blunders. You can see some timeless examples in our roundup of design failures that were so bad they’re good and the worst logos of 2022 so far.
The Sonic Controller
First on our list of the worst design failures we’ve seen so far this year is this rather maximalist Sonic Controller. Video game controllers come in all shapes and sizes and we’ve seen shocks over the years – the Gucci Xbox collaboration comes to mind. Now, in time for the new Sonic movie, Hori has announced a Sonic-themed Nintendo Switch controller, and the design is anything but minimal.
Launching on June 9, the officially licensed Horipad controller has a lot going for it. You have Sonic on the right side, accelerating to the left. One joystick is bright red, the other bright blue. There are two logos: a big Sonic logo and a slightly smaller Hori logo, and a bunch of diagonal blue lines for good measure.
All of this gives McDonald’s DualSense design a very refined look. As always, Twitter shared their feelings, especially about the unfortunate placement of the joystick. “Hey Sonic, is that an analog stick or are you happy to see us?” one person tweeted.
The Super Bowl logo
The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the United States, so having the right logo is important. But some American football fans even though this year’s Super Bowl LVI logo looked a little bloody. The deep red shapes were meant to look like palm trees during a California sunset, but the trunks looked somewhat streaky and the leaves more like, uh, splashing, so we could easily see why, from a distance, fans wondered if they were CSI something.
This one was a definite case of “once you’ve seen it, you can’t see it”, and for many people on Twitter, the trees were definitely blood. Check out our selection of the best sports logos for a selection of more successful endeavors in this area.
The Northman Poster
This one still leaves us unsure as to whether it was a design failure or an intentional marketing gimmick. When The Northman film poser appeared in New York last month, it featured many of the elements you’d expect to see on a poster of a violent epic. There’s burly leader Alexander Skarsgård looking fierce fresh out of battle and Nicole Kidman looking serious dressed in furs. The names of the actors are there with the obligatory tagline which says nothing about the film as well.
Avid moviegoers were ready to run and book their tickets. The only thing holding them back was not knowing what the movie was called. In an apparent oversight, the film’s title was inadvertently left out on the poster, leaving many wondering what the poster was for. It’s possible that the resulting debate won the film more publicity than it would have if the title had appeared on the poster, which leads us to wonder if it was an error or an intentional scheme. Either way, plenty of people were ready to fix the poster, reworking it to feature titles ranging from Tarzan to Finding Nemo 3. Now, Finding Nemo 3 starring Alexander Skarsgård is a movie we’d pay to see.
Apple’s magic mouse
One design decision that for us is clearly one of the design failures of the year is Apple’s not-so-magical magic mouse. And what makes this one all the more surprising is that it comes from the best in Cupertino, who – notches aside – usually do it so well. From the iPhone to the Apple Watch, Apple products generally work. However, it does occasionally make occasional design errors, and none of them seem to bother the internet as much as the Magic Mouse 2.
It’s a typically elegant Apple device at first glance. The problem is when you have to recharge it, in which case it instantly becomes useless. The Lightning port is at the bottom of the mouse, making the device unusable while charging
– something that continues to leave users flabbergasted every day. Just search “worst Apple design” on Twitter, and you’ll be greeted with countless photos of Magic Mice upside down.
More bizarrely, Apple decided to stick with the unpopular design decision when it launched a new black version of the Magic Mouse this year. If you’re looking for alternatives, check out our guide to the best mouse for Mac.
Need examples of fantastic design to counter all that negativity? Just check out our guide to the best logos of all time. And if you’re looking to build it yourself, make sure you have the software you need. See the current best prices on Adobe’s Creative Cloud app suite below.
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