90 Hilariously Bad Signs That Should Have Been Questioned Before Being Put Up

by admin May 28, 2023

Brevity! Clarity! Proper kerning (that’s the spacing between letters)! And no silly business with the fonts! At their core, signs are supposed to impart the biggest amount of information in the least amount of time. That sounds simple enough on paper (pun intended), but not everyone manages to rise to the challenge.

They follow through with their [cough] artistic vision [cough] and the result is a hot mess of utterly illegible chaos. The worst of the bunch end up being featured on the r/dontdeadopeninside subreddit, an online community that is dedicated to nonsense signs if read normally. We’ve collected some of their best posts to share with you. Scroll down, but be careful—if you’re a fan of order, you might end up facepalming way too much.

#1 We Stand With No Standing Ukraine

Image credits: jaber-allen

#2 Asia Rden Ensb Vgio Ocko

Image credits: acrawf1

#3 Left No Turn Right Only Turn

Image credits: thatrotteneggsmell

The r/dontdeadopeninside subreddit has been up and running for nearly a decade, all the way since mid-2014. Since then, the community has grown to encompass over 681k members from all over the world.

The name of the group is rooted in the hit TV series, ‘The Walking Dead,’ which had a promotional poster that had the words ‘Don’t Open’ on one half of the chained doors and ‘Dead Inside’ on the other. When read from left to right, due to the weird spacing, the message becomes ‘Don’t Dead Open Inside’ instead of the intended ‘Don’t Open Dead Inside.’

#4 Love Is Watching & Watching Someone Someone Die Is Hard

Image credits: haevy_mental

#5 You If Going Lost You’re Me Together Get Can’t Know Don’t

Image credits: 1mnotcrying

#6 Honk Ha Against Te

Image credits: bela_okmyx

According to Know Your Meme, ‘Don’t Dead Open Inside’ is one of the most well-recognized examples of messages that aren’t read as they should be because there’s no instantly-recognizable, clear way to tell what order the words ought to be in. It takes a moment to really get the message, by which time the impact the sign could have had is lost.

The meme spread on Twitter in 2010 as more and more people started realizing this. Throughout the next few years, internet users started coming up with memes and jokes based on this. Eventually, this led to the creation of r/dontdeadopeninside in 2014, which continues to be very popular to this day.

#7 Ly Paer Soils Ca

Image credits: igethejoke

#8 Do Not Thanks; Turn Off Randy

Image credits: jabe25

#9 We Hold That All Man, These Truths, And Women To Be, Are Created Self-Evident... Equal

Image credits: 5W1TCHY

There are a few main rules that the members of the DDOI community ought to follow. “Signs must be read correctly top to bottom, and incorrectly left to right, like any text usually. Though it does not matter how easily you can read them, it is highly encouraged to only post images with little separation or spacing between the columns of words,” the moderator team running the group explains.

#10 Jesus Save Can Even You

Image credits: Slaidn

#11 Burger Better Cause Maker You Built It

Image credits: Whatabeezy

#12 Redshe Neckshed

Image credits: WishboneUnlikely1963

Meanwhile, redditors are encouraged to be original with their content: reposting the most popular pics of all time or signs from the last 4 months isn’t tolerated. Your posts might end up getting removed. Moreover, signs that have been staged or faked also have no place on this sub. Finally, internet users are asked to be civil to each other and to put the wrong way to read the message in the titles of their posts.

#13 Satan Jesus Is Is Defeated Lord! [oc]

Image credits: not_quite_creative

#14 The Tim Hoe Use

Image credits: JohnnyAlabama

#15 Noki Parng

Image credits: LegoYoda777

As we’ve covered on Bored Panda previously, clarity and brevity are absolutely vital when creating signs. Essentially, you only have a moment to get your message across. So if you cause even the slightest amount of confusion, you’ve basically negated the whole point of your sign, and it's best to start over.

#16 Go Citd Wals!

Image credits: ijustsailedaway

#17 Pine Man Apple Go Nada Nada

Image credits: Reckless-Ambition

#18 Sophisticated Ho

Image credits: Xendran

What really helps avoid these errors is being patient and diligent. First of all, you need to put in the time and care to create the best possible version of the sign possible, along with a few alternatives. Then, take a break, come back to your design, and look at it with fresh eyes. You’re bound to see things very differently than when you’re face-deep into drafting the sign.

#19 Feed Animals School Kids Parties Groups

Image credits: Mineral_myco_medic

#20 Eggmnnaeet

Image credits: JTUkko

#21 Hot Sharp Water Needles!!

Image credits: dkreidler

Secondly, you should definitely take the time to show your design to a few different people, whether they’re your relatives, close friends, coworkers, or—heck—even some passersby on the street. You’re essentially conducting a bit of research with tiny focus groups. They might catch a silly mistake you left in or might end up interpreting the entire sign very differently than you intended. It’s better to deal with a dash of embarrassment now than tons of it later.

#22 Always Forgotten Remembered Never

Image credits: godhatesanna

#23 Wildphot Lifeography

Image credits: sta015

#24 The Love Is Sweeter Of Than Any Jesus Candy!

Image credits: baggymaggie

If you’re working on a very important project, you might want to consider hiring some professionals to help you, instead of doing everything yourself. Find a designer with a decent reputation to flesh out some of your ideas. Meanwhile, consider getting in touch with a proofreader or editor as well. We all make silly mistakes from time to time, and it helps to have a real pro in your corner.

#25 At Least Irma It Ain't Ian 17 Snowin 22

Image credits: Richie311

#26 Holo Meve

Image credits: philpsy26

#27 It’s Hard To Be When Humble You’re From Texas

Image credits: _Skum

The fact is that if you just wing it, you might end up losing your audience or potential customers. The more fluent your font is, the clearer your message. And vice versa! How trustworthy and likable you and your business are depends a lot on how you brand everything. Ideally, everything should be as legible as possible. With a focus on readable fonts, good kerning, and an overall design that focuses people’s attention where you want it to.

#28 I Don't Know Why Everyone Has Been Complaining. My Cage Large Eggs Have Been Very Affordable

Image credits: derydoca

#29 Never Always Open Look

Image credits: phurt77

#30 You Give Chances Kid Voice Are

Image credits: The_missing_link_69

Here at Bored Panda, we’re very big fans of poorly designed signs—we can’t get enough of these trainwrecks! As such, we’ve featured the genius of r/dontdeadopeninside time and again. If you’d like to see some more chaotic signs that are definitely going to be misinterpreted, check out our earlier lists here and here, as well as here and here.