Bad Packaging- Header Cards

As a graphic designer, I've been fortunate to work on product & packaging design for some of the biggest brands and licenses in the world.

I consider myself to have an eye for good design- but I'm also very amused by the endless examples of horrible art on packages.

Sometimes, if I'm in a dollar store or a flea market, I like to check out the bad design on the shoddy imported items.

Here are a couple examples of why good graphic design can't be outsourced to people working in a different culture for cheap:

"AOLE 

INARTIFI CIAL PRODUCTSFOR LAVING

Return to Big Nature Feelings!"

 seen on fusion anomalog

Bomei

Quality Products 

"Pet Thing"

seen on The Chive

Some more examples from The Monkey Buddha Archives:

•  "Sense of Right Alliance" Action Figures 

•  Specialman! 

 

Bad Packaging for Good Products

I consider myself a connoisseur of bad package design. As a graphic artist, I constantly strive to create aesthetically-pleasing design, when creating art for products or packaging. However, I also find bizarre, unappealing, or downright ugly graphics to be entertaining, even if unintentionally.

While browsing Reddit, I saw these examples of atrocious box & label designs. Interestingly, from reading the comments it appears that both products are actually really effective. So, this is an example of why you can't judge something based solely on appearances.

That post was about this Superthrive plant food. The slapped-together layout and bold graphic style scream 'cheap garden center product', but people claim it really works:

In the comments of that post, I also saw this image someone shared, for Dr. Bonner's Magic Hemp & Peppermint Soap. This is an unbelievably dense rambling mess, but would actually be a great thing to have in the bathroom for a random crazy read:

(click to enlarge)

Packaging Garbage

I truly enjoy graphic design & have designed alot of packaging for a variety of products. Sometimes, though, I can't help but think about what crap people try to sell where a designer must create packaging to make it appear to be a valued item.

On the other hand, some products don't even have the benefit of decent packaging. Looking at items in stores like a dollar store really cracks me up. Bad design is an exalted form of comedy to me.

TheDieline.com is one of the design websites I visit daily, and there was a link to an NPR article that takes the notion of "selling garbage" to a literal level. It just shows that the idea of 'value-' like the idea of 'art'- is a totally subjective experience. This is a case where the 'story' is what creates the value, not the physical product.

NPR:
"Treasure or Trash?
Artist Says It's in the Packaging"

Bad Action Figures

Since I'm getting ready for Toy Fair in NYC this weekend, it's a good time to post this great list of really bad action figures I saw a while back:

Cracked.com:

The 36 Worst Action Figures From Iconic Toy Lines

There are so many laughably bad characters, but my favorites have to be the He-Man "smelly" characters: 

Moss Man (which was Beast Man with green paint, fur, & pine scent) 

& Stinkor... yes, an action figure that looked & smelled like a skunk (which was just a Mer-man figure painted black & white). They are just awesomely bad toys.

"Why won't anyone play with me?!?!?!"

As kids, my 2 brothers & I amassed an extensive collection of toys & actions figures over the years. With such a vast collection, we inevitably had most of the crappy toys on that list. Batman's "Bob" & The G.I. Joe character "Chuckles" were off-the-charts lame.

I guess when you're trying to create so many characters for a toy line, a few duds are bound to slip in the mix.

There are plenty of other examples of action figure failures. One day I'll have to gather up some of the worst ones I can find & make my own list.

This stupidly grinning Lex Luthor that punched himself in the head comes to mind:

Even the packaging sucked for that that 1990's line of DC superheroes by Toy Biz.

My First Baby Organ

This insane item I saw on fUSION Anomalog is pretty much the definition of bad packaging and horrible product design.

"My First Baby Organ"

Horrible Knockoff Transfomer Toy Design

Despite being a graphic artist who takes pride in creating pleasing designs, I also have a great love for really, really bad design, which never stops amusing me.

I saw this abomination on The Chive, in a post about bad toy knockoffs. It looks like it's supposed to be a Transformer-style toy, but the colors and packaging are hilariously crappy.

The name says, in Mexican/Italian colors, "Knight Rider Becames Robert" instead of what I believe should be, "Knight Rider Becomes Robot". This, along with the crazy overall neon color scheme and primitive graphics, makes for a memorably bad example of graphic design.

After a little research and reading comments on other blog posts, it seems to be a ripoff of Super Gobots Zeemon.

"Sense of Right Alliance" Action Figures

My professional career has consisted mostly of designing graphics or packaging for games & toys.

Even though I consider myself a pro who aims to produce quality work, I also really get a kick out of seeing absurdly bad design.

Alot of toys are made overseas in China or India, especially cheap products & knockoffs. However, most U.S. toy companies at least have the sense to get their graphic design work done here in The States. When done in another country, the language & cultural differences make for hysterically awful design.

Although it's great for a laugh, it also makes me feel secure to know that creative jobs, like mine, are not in any immediate danger of being shifted to cheaper labor in other countries. Consumers know when something is crap- by the quality of the art used in the design of the product & packaging.

Here is a classic I recently came across, a set of action figures labelled the "Sense of Right Alliance". It is a collection of Earth's mightiest heroes... plus Shrek & a Car?!?!:

"Stars Warsiors" Bootleg Toys

A couple of my favorite topics, that I've posted about many times here, are bad design & Star Wars.

In my travels through the Internet, I came across a ridiculous pairing of these two favorite things, in the form of a set of bootleg toys called "Stars Warsiors".

I tracked the source down, to the website of illustrator Brad McGinty, who claims he found them in a dollar store... but I'm not sure I believe it.

I want to think these are a subversive art project, & that no manufacturer could actually produce something this absurd.

On his blog, he had pictures of these insanely bad toy knock-offs & created a Star Warsiors T-shirt.

Paper Pusher

Stars Warsiors!

Here are the hilariously-named figures, in their equally crappy packaging:

Door Ladder

Karate Farmer

And my favorite...

Wise Puppet

'Control Toys' by Super Nanny

(click to enlarge)

 Just in time for the holidays!!!

I came across this crazy line of parody products & thought this would be a good time to post them. I've posted about bad product & packaging design before, but thankfully these aren't meant to be serious. (However, the "Funny Cage" seems pretty close to a regular play pen that's used to keep babies contained.)

"Control Toys" were made up by the TV show Super Nanny. It was actually a viral campaign, in which mock-ups of these disturbing toy packages were placed on store shelves. When the customer picked up one of the boxes, the back read “There are better ways to discipline your child."

Here is the video featuring Control Toys:

 "Funny Cage"

"Happy Heavy Ball"

"Lovely Strait Jacket"

Mall Knockoff Toys

The other night, my fiancée & went Christmas shopping at the Hamilton Mall in NJ. It's the first time I've been in a mall in... I don't even know how long!

Although the mall wasn't empty, there didn't seem like there was a lot of shoppers for the holiday season. It's evidence of the impact online shopping has had on brick-and-mortar stores, and malls, in particular.

Anyway, I was in one store, called Unique Gifts or something, with all kinds of useless crap to buy. I walked buy the toy racks and was pulled in against my will by the hilarious selection of cheap knockoff toys from China & other east Asian countries.

I have a soft spot for knockoffs & bootleg toys, mostly because of the ridiculous "Engrish" and horrible graphic design. I've had many years of experience designing toys, games, & their packaging- so it's amusing how bad some of the products & graphics on the packages can be.

Here are some of my favorites, I had to get photos of the funniest ones:

 

This was the first one that caught my eye: 

"Super Dino Force", Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles combined with Jurassic Park dinosaurs.

 

 This one cracked me up- "Street Fighter: Man Wrestle"

Featuring Super MAN!

 

Low-budget Justice League: "Super Justice Force". 

The only weapon they need is the katana blade.

 

"Ultimate Fighter Hero" complete with Luchador mask, and ladder, chainsaw, & spiked bat accessories for ultra-violent play!

 

 "Universal Hero"

A ninja Capt. America ripoff with Wolverine Claws

  

No, this is not a Transformer, it is a "Universal Super Change Robot"!

 

Finally, an archery set with a knife & Native American stereotype thrown in for good measure.