REVEALED: Failed product designs | Vintage Vibes

I don’t know about you, but some of these products really got me thinking about how a small change can impact the whole thing as worthless. Well, I am not an expert at this, so Bored Panda reached out to product designer Sharanya Salehittal for an interview. 

She believes that at the end of the day, a product design fails when it loses touch with reality. It doesn’t matter how sleek or futuristic an idea looks on a computer screen. She stressed that if it doesn’t work for actual human beings in the real world, it’s a flop. Designers usually get tripped up by forgetting that they are building for people, not for their own egos, Sharanya added.

Our expert narrated that “the first big trap is solving a problem that nobody actually has. We see this all the time with hyper-complex gadgets that replace simple daily tasks: think of a smart device replacing a basic kitchen tool. When you over-engineer something, you end up creating a costly solution to a minor inconvenience, leaving users wondering why it exists in the first place.”

Then, she commented, there’s the user experience. If someone has to read a thick manual just to figure out how to turn an object on or change a basic setting, the design has failed. Sharanya strongly believes that good products blend seamlessly into our daily habits. When a design conflicts with our natural intuition or forces us to think too hard, we quickly become frustrated and give up on it.

Sharanya claimed that we also see designs fail when beauty gets in the way of basic utility. “Yes, everyone loves a gorgeous, minimalist aesthetic, but not if it makes the product harder to use. If you create a beautiful mouse but put the charging port on the bottom, it is totally useless while plugged in. You have valued how it looks over how it actually works,” she added.

On the physical side, a design is bad if it can’t withstand the wear and tear of real life, Sharanya stressed. She thinks that products need to survive being dropped, shoved into bags, or left in the sun. When companies cut corners on materials or fail to test for human clumsiness, things break, fail, or, in the worst cases, become safety hazards.

While that was all about failed product designs, our expert also shared some wise words on successful ones. “Think about the best products you own. Chances are, you rarely think about them at all. That’s because truly great design is almost invisible. It quietly slips into your daily routine, solves your problem, and works without constantly begging for your attention,” she explained.

Sharanya noted that a great product explains itself. You shouldn’t need to dig up a user manual or watch a tutorial video to figure out how to turn it on or open a lid, she added. When a design is intuitive, its shapes, buttons, and textures naturally guide you, making the whole experience feel like second nature.

She expressed that a successful design also prioritizes doing its actual job quite well. Good designers don’t get distracted by flashy gimmicks or useless extra features just to look high-tech. Instead, they focus entirely on solving a real, everyday frustration and making sure the product delivers on that core promise every single time, Sharanya stated.

Another thing she pointed out about a really great creation is that it knows when to get out of the way. As per her, “It doesn’t clutter your living space with loud colors, flashing lights, or unnecessary details. By using ‘as little design as possible,’ it keeps things clean and simple, blending beautifully into the background when you aren’t using it.”

Sharanya claimed that “There’s also a deep element of honesty and durability. A well-designed product doesn’t pretend to be more premium than it actually is to trick you into a purchase. It’s built with quality materials, engineered to withstand real-world wear and tear, and designed to outlast passing, cheap trends.”

Eventually, she believes that a great design isn’t about making a loud artistic statement; rather, it’s about making your life just a little bit easier. When a creator successfully balances usefulness, simplicity, and longevity, they are giving you a reliable tool you can actually depend on, she added.

When we asked Sharanya if she had ever designed a product that was actually a big flop, she laughed and stated that obviously she has. “Not once or twice, but my designs have failed multiple times, not only when I was a student, but also after I started working professionally.”

“But that’s the beauty of it all, because you always get a chance to redo things, and then create the best version ever. After all, the whole of life is a trial-and-error process, right?” she elaborated.

While concluding the interview, Sharanya shared a peculiar product whose design she really admires and thinks was quite successful. “I consider that the Sony Walkman was forward-thinking, providing portable music with excellent design and longevity. It transformed personal audio and set the stage for MP3 players and smartphones,” our expert summed up.

While that was an unusual answer, it definitely ticked all the boxes about what she had explained a good product design should look like. Anyway, that interview definitely broadened my very narrow horizon about this intriguing field. What about you? Also, which of these bizarre failed objects made you laugh the loudest? We would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to drop them in the comments section!