At first glance, it looks like the epitome of abominable graphic design. Comic Sans? Check. Clashing colours? Yep. The unmistakeable essence of Microsoft Paint? Without a doubt. It all adds together to create what's possibly both the worst and best job ad of all time.
Shared on Reddit this week, The City of Los Angeles' 'Graphics Designer' job ad shows exactly why the council needs a graphic designer. The hilariously shoddy ad takes several famous tropes of bad graphic design and slaps them together in a veritable smorgasbord of poor taste. Whoever made it clearly hasn't been within a country mile of our Photoshop tutorials.
Of course, the whole effect is deliberate. The ad was a social media hit when first shared by the City of Los Angeles in 2018, and is still making people laugh. "I think it's rather genius!" One Reddit user exclaims, while another adds, "Whoever made this monstrosity clearly had fun making it."
Latest Videos From Creative Bloq
Like many of the best graphic design memes, the ad embraces the fun side of terrible design – and it's still striking a chord with designers today, with Twitter users continuing to share the City of Los Angeles' original 2018 tweet (below) three hundred years later (at least that's what it feels like) in 2021.
The marketing department however doesn’t need any help 👏 https://t.co/tjWTOZM0fYJanuary 19, 2021
See more
The actual listing for the job on the City of Los Angeles' website was a touch more professional, detailing a required minimum of two years' full-time paid experience. It still refers to the job title as 'Graphics Designer', though – perhaps a 'mistake' from the comedy ad that slipped through the net? Either way, we hope whoever ended up getting the Graphics Design job knew their way around Microsoft Paint – or at least another piece of free graphic design software.
While there's nothing we love more than a genuinely stunning piece of art or design, it doesn't mean we can't appreciate a good old shocker every now and again. Check out the 12 design fails that make up our graphic design hall of shame.
Read more:
Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter
Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.
UK design jobs: Find your dream role with Creative Bloq and Design Jobs Board
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
