Design fails can come in many forms. Sometimes it's an unintentional reference or a simple typo that could have been avoided with closer proofreading. Others involve attempts to do something clever that fall apart in the execution.
This one falls into the latter category. I get the idea – I think. The travel brand wanted to show a sudden transformation in the face of a young woman as she goes from travelling vicariously by staring at people's social media feeds to taking a selfie of her own on holiday in Europe. A few pixels of space between the two images might have made that work. Maybe. But as it is, the result looks like something very different.
Shared by u/DucksToo22, the ad has gone down a storm on Reddit's r/CrappyDesign community, already generating nearly 600 comments. "I can't believe that a marketing department somewhere looked at this image and gave it the thumbs up," one person said. Others feel for the model involved "Can you imagine being super excited that you were asked to be a model... and then six months later..." one person said.
But others disagree. "The advertising agency that produced this did a perfect job," one person suggested. "Produce an ad that they will make fun of for its mistakes on social media. The exposure alone will get us more views than the ad as originally intended."
And some aren't at all surprised that the piece saw the light of day. "As a tourism marketing dude, I think you are overestimating how many people are involved in these things," one person said. "There are legit chances that the person who made the art is the same that approves it, post it and create a text to go with the Instagram post."
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
