50 Brilliant Moments Of Smart Design That Made Life Easier For Consumers

Sometimes, designers go above and beyond, making everyday items feel like they were made just for you. From furniture that secretly doubles as storage to packaging that doesn’t require a degree to open, these moments of brilliance remind us that good design is all about the details.

Whether it’s a perfectly placed cup holder or a user-friendly app, these examples of brilliant design show that when designers put the consumer first, the results can be downright impressive.

Get ready to appreciate the small things that make life a whole lot easier.


1. “In Japan, They Put A Barcode In The Meat Package That Darkens When The Meat Spoils, Reacting To Ammonia. When It Darkens, The Barcode Is Unreadable”

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2. “The New Train Station Near Me Has Baby Changing Stations In Both Restrooms”

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3. “CVS Has Magnifying Glasses Throughout The Medicine Aisle So You Can Read What The Medicine Packaging Says”

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4. “Why Is Bread Bad For Ducks And What To Feed Them Instead”

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5. “Calm Automatically Cancelling An Unused Subscription”

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6. “Such A Small, Silly Thing”

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7. “Meirl”

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8. “Nearly Got Me Emotional”

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9. “This Store Sorts Avocados By Ripeness”

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10. “Free Feminine Hygiene Products In IKEA Bathroom”

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11. “Very Cute Too!”

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12. “This Toothpaste Describes What Each Of Its Ingredient Is And Its Purpose”

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13. “The Kleenex Boxes At My Work Have Different Color Tissues Near The End To Let You Know You Only Have A Few Left In The Box”

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14. “This Irish Supermarket Has Quiet Evenings For Sensitive People”

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15. “These Two Coin Lockers That Are Easily Accessible In A Wheelchair”

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16. “Decathlon Attach Their Clothes Labels To A Little Strip Of Extra Fabric, So You Can Easily Cut It Off Without Leaving A Scratchy Little Nub”

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17. “Meanwhile, In Australia”

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18. “Tire Treads I Found On A Mechanic Thread That Leave This Below The 10% Threshold So You Know It’s Time To Replace”

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19. “Hotel TV Has An Option To Clear All Your Credentials At Once From The Apps You Used”

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20. “Public Tools At My Local Bike Park”

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21. “This System Allows You To Know If The Package Has Been Handled Correctly”

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22. “Family Crisis Center Site Has Emergency Exit Button To Direct To Another Tab Immediately”

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23. “On The Display Model Of A Grill”

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24. “Manhole Covers In Oklahoma Have A City Map On Them With A White Dot Showing Where You Are”

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25. “Good Guy Oomomo (Japanese Dollar Store) Using Labels That Can Actually Peel Off Without Leaving Any Gross, Impossible-To-Remove, Residue”

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26. “This USB Cable Is Able To Be Plugged In Both Ways”

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27. “Stadium I Went To Showed Which Stalls Were Available”

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28. “These Re-Usable Silicone Straws That ‘Zipper’ So You Can Clean Them Without A Special Brush And Surprisingly Work Really Well”

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29. “This Pump For A Skin Moisturizer Completely Drains The Canister”

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30. “Wegmans Has A ‘No Candy’ Lane, So Parents Don’t Have To Drag Their Kids Past A Wall Of Sugar If They Don’t Want To”

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31. “Saw This At My Bank, Last Ditch Effort To Make Sure None Of Their Customers Are Scammed”

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32. “Microsoft/Bing Has A Button That Can Convert Recipe Measurements To Metric”

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33. “Hospital Waiting Room Screen Preemptively Answers A-Hole Questions”

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34. “This Claw Machine At A Restaurant Kids Play Area Gives You Your Money Back If You Don’t Receive An Item”

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35. “These Upside-Down Charger Sockets On A Train Table That Prevent Cable Damage”

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36. “Vice Lets You Clearly Know The Article Is Dated Before You Read”

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37. “Hexagon Shaped Crayons So They Don’t Roll Off Of The Table”

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38. “It Smells Like Poo Here”

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39. “The Answer Is In The Thumbnail”

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40. “Streaming Service Letting You Know When The WiFi Drops Out To Avoid Data Costs”

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41. “This Tomato Sauce Cup That You Can Use As A Regular Glass After”

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42. “Paying For No Ads With In Game Money”

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43. “My Local Cinema Has A Guide To Which Movies Have Mid And Post Credit Scenes”

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44. “Google Tries To Help You When You Search ‘How To Tie A Noose'”

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45. “Soda Bottle That Can Be Filled With Sand And Used As A Hantle”

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46. “This Elevator In Japan Has An Emergency Toilet”

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47. “My Jerky Came With A Flossing Stick”

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48. “Lime Automatically Ends Your Ride If You Forget To, And Only Charges You For The Time You Was Actually Using The Scooter”

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49. “Tire Tread Marker Shows You When You Should Replace Your Tires”

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50. “Company Tells The You Cons Of Buying Their Own Product”

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Nate

Nate Armbruster

When he's not doomscrolling Twitter or writing for Pleated-Jeans, Nate Armbruster writes jokes—and then tells them on stage as a stand-up comedian, where he can watch audiences (hopefully) laugh in real-time.