Bad design

It feels like we come across instances of bad design all the time. Good design is often unnoticed because it is seamless and effortlessly makes our lives easier. But bad design really sticks out. Some examples from my recent experience include: my car, in which it is almost impossible to see the speedometer as you drive; my alarm clock/Ipod dock, in which the actually dock is so tricky to get your Iphone into, it requires two hands, lots of fiddling, and even more swearing; San Francisco public transport ticket machines, which have a bewildering and arbitrary series of limitations and "quirks". In all these instances you just sit back and wonder "what were these designers thinking", and "have they ever used the things they have designed?"