If you’ve been designing websites for more than a year, you’ve likely experienced a universal truth: your old work is embarrassing.
It’s like scrolling through your teenage Facebook posts—cringeworthy, overly dramatic, and full of questionable decisions. At the time, you thought you were a genius. Now? You’re wondering why no one staged an intervention.
The irony is that every designer goes through this. No matter how talented you are, your past work is destined to make you wince. It’s the price of progress.
The better you get, the worse your old projects look. So if you find yourself shaking your head at a design you once loved, congratulations—you’re evolving! Now, let’s dive into why your old designs haunt your dreams.
The Designer’s Cycle of Shame
Every web designer has been there. You pull up an old project, expecting to feel a sense of pride, only to be greeted with a horror show of clashing fonts, excessive drop shadows, and a button that looks suspiciously like a 2010-era gradient crime scene.
Suddenly, you find yourself asking, Did I actually think this was good?
Yes, you did. And that’s the problem.
The “Masterpiece” That Aged Like Milk
At the time, you were convinced it was your magnum opus. The typography? Flawless. The color scheme? Inspired. The layout? A symphony of UX perfection. But now? Now it looks like something that should come with a Geocities watermark.
What changed? You did. Web design trends evolved, your skills improved, and now that once-revolutionary design just screams “please delete me.”
The Lies We Tell Ourselves
When delivering a project, we often convince ourselves that this one is different. This one will stand the test of time. This one won’t haunt us in five years.
Spoiler: It absolutely will.
Clients may still love it. Your mom might think it’s the best thing since responsive design. But deep down, you know the truth—it’s a ticking time bomb of embarrassment.
The Cringe-Worthy Details We Can’t Unsee
Here are just a few things that make past projects unbearable to look at:
- That Overuse of Shadows & Glows – “Why did I think everything needed to float above the page?”
- The Excessive Hover Effects – “Ah yes, the ‘everything must move’ phase.”
- The Inexplicable Font Choices – “Lobster? Was I okay??”
- The ‘Creative’ Navigation – “Click the hidden hamburger to reveal a carousel menu… because usability is for cowards.”
- The SEO Disaster – “Why did I think hiding text in white on white was a clever idea?”
Growth = Cringe
Here’s the good news: Hating your past work means you’ve grown. If you don’t cringe at your old projects, you’re either a time-traveling design prodigy or you haven’t improved much.
Progress in web design is built on looking back, groaning loudly, and then doing better next time.
So embrace the designer’s rite of passage. Laugh at your past sins, learn from them, and remember—one day, today’s masterpiece will also be tomorrow’s regret. 😅
