Letter-Spacing Fails That Ruined Everything
Incorrect letter-spacing or lack of an appropriate letter-space is enough to make or break a sign, phrase, or slogan. Maybe it's the kerning settings on the computer, the process of spacing, or someone trying to be funny on a spacing board outside a restaurant.
Ever see a sign that says, "don ate glasses here" instead of "donate glasses here?" Well, that's due to some bad kerning! Keep scrolling, because these letter-spacing fails are going to make you wonder how these various signs and merchandise ever got approved!
The Wit Was So Close
Coffee is arguably one of the more popular drinks among people who are on the go and need a quick pick me up. It's common for those slower-paced people around them to say slow down or go to sleep. The natural comeback: "I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
This coffee box would have been perfect if the designer paid a bit more attention to detail. They were so close to having the wit down. Instead, we're left with, "you can sleep when you redead!"
If The Space Wasn't There, "You" Could Have Fit
Somehow, this dog toy was approved to be sold on the market. So, wouldn't the creator, who we're guessing is "Jud," want to be absolutely positive that the spacing looked good?
Not to mention, if the spacing was done correctly, they could have spelled out the word 'you' instead of using text lingo. Oh, and for future dog toy creators, don't put snarky comments on them. Dogs are the least judgmental beings on the planet!
Don Needs To Go See A Doctor Stat
It's unfortunate because this company is really trying to do something nice. All they had to do was put the 'N' and 'ATE' closer together, so the word actually looked like donate instead of "Don ate."
That being said, the fact that the spacing makes it seem like some random guy is eating your old glasses is both terrifying and funny all at the same time. Here's to Don and his belly full of old eye-wear.
The Eagles Need A New Marketing Strategist
Cereal is one of the most innocent things in the world. Typically, it's a child's go-to breakfast of choice, if pancakes and waffles are off the table. So, when an NFL team as popular as the Eagles get some letter-spacing wrong, it's going to raise a few eyebrows.
We get that the name of the cereal is supposed to be "Breakfast Blitz" but did no one think to tell the designer that there should be a space between the 'l' and 'i?'
It's Time For Some Meat!
We never understood phrases in the center of clocks. They're not supposed to be the center of a person's attention - the time is. Regardless, this designer had good intentions with their "you had me at hello" phrase.
Too bad that the third line looks more like 'meat' than 'me at.' Pro tip: don't put words right where the hands of the clock are going to go, it's just a recipe for disaster. Also, can someone explain the quotations around 'hello?'
That Must Have Been Quite The Discussion
The landlord, or whoever made the "good news" sign really should have consulted with a typesetter before printing. While most will realize they are trying to say 'tenants,' it doesn't exactly hit the mark.
The sign makes it sound more like the ten ants were squatting in an apartment, and the agreement is that they're allowed to stay there on weekends but can't use the cable. Time to lawyer up, ants, you need a better agreement.
She Wanted To Let Everyone Know That She Hates Figs
Hats and beanies with cute phrases or sports teams are a great way to express one's individuality. One thing that people don't think to look out for, though, is awkward letter-spacing that can take one word and give it an entirely new meaning.
Take this "fighter" beanie, for instance. Not only will people question the word on the hat, but the alternative is confusing yet quite comical: Fig Hter. The absence of the "a" in hater makes it that much better.
Maybe They Wanted To Advertise The Food That Way?
When advertising for a restaurant, the message you're trying to get across to your target audience is important. The owners want people to come into their establishment. Not make them question the food in any way!
It doesn't look like Slix Fast Food got the memo. A little spacing issue has them being overly honest about the quality of their food, even if it's not bad. It sux that they probably don't get that much business.
Elite Men Need To Wash Their Mouth Out With Soap
Similar to restaurants, a retail store wants to have a catchy name that has people wanting to walk in and take a chance on the food, or, in this case, clothing. Unfortunately for this store, their name is accusing men of using bad language, and all because of a little spacing issue.
It's hard not to feel bad for this store owner. They clearly wanted to be upfront about what they sold. Instead, they are accusing the gentleman of swearing.
This Thrift Store Has Some Explaining To Do
When you're doing a bit of spring cleaning, it's always a good idea to donate items that you no longer use. This thrift store is just putting out a friendly reminder that it is a place you can drop off your donations.
Well, it doesn't seem like the employee that set up the board was paying attention. We wouldn't be surprised if this specific thrift store didn't get donations for some time. Or, at least until they fixed their kerning.
This Cream Is More Than Justice
At first glance, this ice-cream bars slogan is a bit intense, considering it seems like they're selling more than justice cream, whatever that means. It's a bit much for someone who wants to walk in and get nothing more than a cone of rocky road.
It's a style preference, but if you're going to put a word in front of 'ice' that accidentally makes a new word, put a hyphen between ice and cream. That way, people won't be confused about justice cream.
Is He Here Or Nowhere?
For a Baptist church trying to promote God and his teachings, this sign's style was quite the bold choice. They probably could have gone with the font and spacing of their actual church sign, which looks very nice and well made.
Instead, we're left with a confusing sign that either says he's here or he is nowhere. Which is it? The world may never know because of the uniform letter spacing on this one sign.
Please Go To St op
Letter spacing is especially important when rerouting an entire city. The directions have to be clear, so people don't get confused and wind up on the opposite side of town. That's just asking for an angry letter to City Hall.
In this case, someone should have pointed out to the writer that the spacing of one word is enough to throw people off their route. 'Stop' looks more like a street name, St. op. That's enough to have a GPS freak out.
Next Time, Think Of A Better Name Or Get A New Font
How did the owners of Fast Taco not realize that this font did nothing for their restaurant? On the other side of the coin, how did customers not tell them that their sign reads either Fart Taco or Fort Taco?
They sell Mexican food, so the first name is off-putting from the get-go. But the second has something to it. Who wouldn't want to go into a restaurant called Fort Taco? At least it piques your interest. Still, they failed at the font and letter-spacing game.
Life Is What Now?
This welcome mat has a beautiful message for people walking into the IFC company. The only problem is that the spacing is all over the place, and it looks more like a jumble of letters than the phrase "life is beautiful."
If we had to guess the reasoning behind the funky spacing, it was to line up all of the 'i's.' We're not entirely sure why that mattered, but here is the failed finished product.
Buy 1 Get 150% Off
We're not sure about you, but if we saw a sign saying if we buy 1 Nintendo DS game and get the other is 150 percent off, we'd buy out the store! Of course, the sign only says that because of the horrible letter-spacing.
The cashiers must have had a field day with all of the distraught customers thinking they were getting a second game for free. Sorry, shoppers, but the second game is only 50 percent off!
Ted Needs This
There's something to be said about getting people to join your church. But it's something else altogether when you publicly put the poor man's name on a sign that says, "Commit Ted to Christ."
We know, the First United Methodist Church isn't actually trying to get some guy named Ted to commit to Christ. But they should commit to spacing out their letters properly, so the one Ted in town doesn't think the church is zeroing in on him!
Should Have Named The Track B*U*R*N To Avoid Confusion
Ellie Goulding is a gifted singer who has put out hit after hit since the time she came on the scene. So, it's surprising that this little PR blooper happened. Wild guess that the song title is actually Burn with an 'R N' and not Bum.
Although, she could be singing about an ex-partner who was a bum? Who knows! The letters are hardly spaced apart, so it is impossible to tell what the actual title is, aside from the slight distortion on the left of the 'M.'
When It Starts Off Okay And Then Mayhem
This is a good lesson in bigger isn't always better. If the designer of this notebook went with a smaller font, then all of the broken words would be on one line, and the entire quote would make some sense.
Here, we have something that starts okay but then quickly turns into a snowball effect of mayhem. The result of the snowball is the last line,"r a kiss." Which we can only assume means the person holding the notebook is a kiss.
Poor Mustard. It Doesn't Know If It's Able To Pour
Unfortunately for Heinz, their kerning skills were not up to par on this poor mustard bottle. Instead of saying the bottle is pourable, the line looks like it reads 'pour able' mustard.
It goes to show that even major businesses such as Heinz can mess up with their letter spacing. Hopefully, they've fixed the weird break in the word so it doesn't sound like the mustard is poor and unsure if it can pour.
A Vaca Do
As funny as "a vaca do" is, we can't help but feel sorry for Del Taco. Someone should have told the employee in charge of the sign to move the letters closer together. Or at least move the "fresh" away from "avocado."
It's funny, though, because the term "a vaca do" was a viral vine, once upon a time. We're going to go with that's why they did the horrible spacing job and not because of laziness.
One A Dult Entree With Extra Fries
The thing about bad kerning is that you can take something as simple as telling the public a Tuesday night deal and make it super confusing. The letter-spacing on this board is totally off.
The first line's words are swapped, the second added an 'e' to the word child, and don't get us started on the letter-spacing of the last two lines. We would like one 'a dult entree,' please, extra fries and all of the dipping sauces.
Spacing That Makes People Think You Dislike Family
This poor DIY crafter needs someone to teach her the art of kerning. In what is a lovely message about family is a disaster in letter-spacing. Even the Imgur user said, "my sister keeps posting pictures of her new craft project, and it's killing me inside."
We can only hope that the user decided to let their sister in on the secret of proper letter-spacing. They wouldn't want their poor parents seeing the craft and bursting out into tears, asking what they did wrong.
Forever Yars
Even though most consider Valentine's Day a Hallmark holiday, some do appreciate the lovey-dovey sentiment that is behind it. Too bad that the bad kerning makes this love letter something entirely different than what the sender most likely was going for.
Hopefully, Yars is better at letter-spacing than this note giver. Pro tip: you never want to give a love note with another name on it, even if that name is due to bad handwriting.
Broa: The Mythological Creature That Dens In Your Mind
If this message is in a school, then someone needs to tell the teacher they need to check the kerning settings on their computer. The letter-spacing on the first line is off, but that's not even the worst of it. The bad part comes in the second line.
'Broa dens' sounds like a mythological creature will burrow into your mind if you start to read. Maybe that's why they chose a medical head image. To show where the broa is going to go.
The Letter-Spacing Makes Them Unreliable Bankers
For a professional company, this is quite embarrassing. If they had clients before this mess of a sign was put up, they don't have them anymore. We can only hope that it was the wind or some monumental earthquake that spaced these letters out in this fashion.
The owner of this bank really should fix the spacing because all we're getting out of it is 'not bank.' The jumbled letter-spacing makes us think that the bankers aren't all that reliable.
So Is It The Syndrome Or The City?
The 'I heat [insert city here]' shirts are common in most large cities around the world. It's one of those touristy souvenirs people can't help but pick up for themselves or loved ones. Too bad for Sweden, their's didn't come out too hot.
Considering a serious syndrome is named after Stockholm, and some people can never remember if it's one of two words, you'd think the designers would triple check spacing before printing. Nope, that'd be too easy.
This Is Why Spacing Is Important
It's sad because this "Kids Exchange" consignment shop is trying to do the right thing by making second-hand clothing affordable for parents with young children. The downside is that the color change between letters didn't get the point across, and the sign can be interpreted in a different light.
This is one of those times where letter-spacing is of the utmost importance. The store owner probably doesn't want parents walking in asking to see a doctor for some reason.
