Diabolical April Fools prank ideas for your fellow designers

Ah, it’s that time of the year again. The 1st of April is around the corner—the only day where your most unhinged ideas are socially acceptable, and no one can get too mad at you… in theory.

….or so that’s what we’re trying to tell ourselves🤣

As designers, we spend our days aligning pixels, debating color theory, and explaining to clients why their logo can't be "just a little bigger."

But on April Fools Day, we get to do something a little fun—we get to channel our creative powers toward something equally important: messing with our fellow designers.

I mean, who better to appreciate a perfectly executed April Fools prank than people who obsess over details for a living? ♬~(˘▾˘~) (~˘▾˘)~*♬* 

So, we’ve cooked up the ultimate list of designer-specific April Fools’ pranks to satisfy that little gremlin inside you—without getting fired (hopefully🤞).

April Fools: Breaking the creative chaos loose

For normal people, April Fools means plastic wrap on toilet seats or salt in the sugar jar. Cute😒. Predictable🙄. Child’s play😏.

But for us? This is our Super Bowl. A chance to craft something truly diabolical. A moment to make our color-obsessed colleagues question their life choices. A single day where we get to turn the tables on that one designer who always—always—points out that your alignment is off by 0.0001px.

And look, we’re not saying that putting a whoopee cushion under your friends’ office chair isn’t funny (it’s a classic!). But if you really want to watch your designer friends spiral into madness, you’re going to need to go deeper with your April Fools prank. Subtler. Smarter. More insidious.

10 ultimate April Fools prank ideas for designers

The "something’s off…." desktop prank

Nothing drives a designer insane like feeling something is wrong but not knowing exactly what. This is where you change the icons on their desktop to be just slightly distorted.

Just image the look on your designers’ face as they sit down, ready to start their day, but something feels… off. The icons on their desktop seem normal at first glance, but their brain won’t let it go.

Is that folder… tilted? Is that app icon slightly wider than it should be? They can’t put their finger on it, but it’s messing with them on a primal level.

Let them suffer in silence as they second-guess their own reality.

Bonus points if your friend’s a virgo or has mild OCD. If that’s the case…..who hurt you?😭

The Nicolas Cage portfolio

Now THIS is not just an April Fools prank. This one is art.

Invite them to your Kittl team with an innocent “Hey, can you review this real quick?” They’ll open the project, expecting actual designs. Instead, every single file is an extreme close-up of Nicolas Cage’s face.

Pixelated. Cropped in weird, unsettling ways. No explanation. No context.
Your friend will cycle through the five stages of grief in real time, culminating in an existential crisis. Do they rage-quit? Do they embrace the Cage? Only time will tell.

Beginner mode bamboozle

Nothing crushes a designer’s soul faster than losing their perfectly customized workspace.

Switch their design software to full beginner mode. Hide their toolbars. Reset every setting to default. Turn on all the tutorial pop-ups.

Suddenly, the software they’ve mastered for years is treating them like a confused intern on Day 1 and showing cheerful bubble pop-ups like:

“Did you know you can UNDO with Ctrl+Z? 😊”

“Let’s take a guided tour of the interface!”

They will spiral. You will laugh. Balance will be restored.

The phantom desktop

This one is psychological warfare at its finest.

Step one: Take a screenshot of their desktop. Step two: Set it as their wallpaper. Step three: Hide all their actual icons.

Now sit back and watch the show. See the confusion and their growing panic as they realize nothing is working. First, they’ll blame the mouse. Then, the computer. Then, reality itself. 
Bonus points if they reboot their entire system. Extra bonus points if they call their tech-savvy friend. Ultimate bonus points if you are that tech-savvy friend🤣

Kittl easter egg that doesn’t exist

Convince them Kittl has a secret premium feature unlocked by pressing Ctrl+Alt+K+I+T+T+L. Maybe it’s a hidden AI tool. Maybe it’s a free lifetime subscription. Maybe it’s the ultimate design hack.

It’s nothing. But that won’t stop them.

They’ll try every key combination and they’ll spiral. They had hope. And that’s on them🤷‍♀️. This isn’t the motherload cheat on The Sims 4.

The Figma jumpscare

Some April Fools pranks are subtle. This is NOT one of them.

Wait until your friend is deeply focused on their design on Figma. The more zoned in they are, the better. Then, in one swift, diabolical move… drag in the most horrific photo you can find.

If you don’t want to be TOO mean, just find the biggest, ugliest image of Shrek you can find. One second, they’re refining their designs. The next? BAM. A full screen of a cursed meme—an oversized Shrek.

Staring. Judging. Unavoidable.

Watch as they panic-click trying to delete it—only for you to move it around like a ghost haunting their file.

Omg, you’re actually evil. Who gave you that idea??? (not us).

The Comic Sans virus

Create a script that changes their system font to Comic Sans. Every. Single. Font. Watch as they recoil in horror when they open a document and their precious Helvetica has been replaced with the bubbliest abomination in typography.

The Brand Kit “tiny tweaks”

Kittl’s Brand Kit keeps your colors, fonts, and logos locked in, so every design stays on-brand without the chaos of mismatched elements. It’s built for consistency and efficiency. 

But for April Fools? Let’s harmlessly sneak into your fellow designer’s Kittl account and “improve” their Brand Kit.

Swap their sleek, professional color palette for the worst neon combinations imaginable. Replace their elegant fonts with Papyrus, Comic Sans, and Lobster. And for the grand finale? A beautifully low-effort MS Paint version of their saved logos.

The best part? Rename it: “Client Approved - FINAL VERSION”

Now, sit back and watch their brain short-circuit when they open their project. Will they second-guess their memory? Will they just go home for the day even if it's still 10AM? Let’s find out.

The cursor curse

You gotta have some serious beef with your coworker if you’re willing to go the extra mile for this.

Install a custom cursor that's offset by about 20 pixels from the actual click point.
Just imagine a designer not being able to click exactly where they want. You’re welcome.

A layer above all layers

Where to next? More quote collections for designers

Found what you needed for your Eid designs? Awesome! Now, next time a client needs an Eid campaign, you won't need to start from scratch or worry about cultural missteps. Just bookmark this page for your go-to design inspiration.

If you're working on other projects that need just the right words, we've got you covered there too. Check out our good morning quotes collection—perfect for those sunrise-themed social posts or wellness campaigns.

Or bookmark our 365 inspirational quotes article for those days when clients want "something motivational" but can't tell you exactly what.

And if you're still searching for the perfect words for other projects, our Quote Generator can help you discover fresh, inspiring messages beyond the usual clichés. Sometimes finding that unexpected phrase is what makes a design concept finally click.

Grab what you need, design something great, and maybe show us what you create!