The Apprentice’s long-suffering designers tell all: ‘That wasn’t a reflection of my work’

What should a designer do when their client wants to create a product that looks almost exactly – no, exactly – like excrement? When Ben Shutler of Innovate Design was asked to assist candidates on this year’s series of The Apprentice, he hadn’t imagined that their vision for a children’s toothbrush would be altogether so lumpy and brown.

“When I was drawing the toothbrush,” Shutler recalls, “I was looking over at my colleague, and we were smiling at each other, like, ‘Do they realise what this looks like?’”. But he didn’t say anything. He went on valiantly designing the product, which was supposed to look like a wizard’s wand. Ultimately, Lord Sugar would brand it “garbage” (after making a number of poo-related puns).

In almost every episode of The Apprentice, a designer such as Shutler aids contestants as they create a logo, product or advertisement in their quest to impress Sugar and win a £250,000 prize. More often than not, the results are memorably bad: in Series 5, contestants designed an underwear-clad cereal mascot known as “Pants Man”; by series 14 viewers were treated to an airline logo featuring a big yellow explosion.

Throughout the show’s 16th series in particular – the semi-final of which airs tonight – fans have sympathised with the highly qualified designers who have had to assist the less-than-qualified candidates. On the night that Shutler’s episode aired, one widely-circulated Tweet featured a screenshot of his concerned face, with the caption: “Good evening to this week’s sacrificial graphic designer. May you eventually find peace.”

Later in the series, a video game logo misspelled Arctic as "Artic", while a jar of baby food was designed with the word "DIES" the most prominent part of label. As funny as this might be for the viewing public, it begs the question: why do designers agree to appear on the show? Is it the case – as many viewers online have speculated – that these professionals aren’t allowed to help the candidates; that they’re forced to follow orders? And, if so, is the whole experience as painful as the memes make it look?