Last year I was given a yoga kitty calendar. Besides how cute it was, it was also very useful, as each day had a clear square in which I could write (please pardon my marks). This year, I received a Star Wars themed one. While the design itself is cool, the practicality isn't as well done. Because of a background image/texture, not only do I need to make sure my own handwriting is seen, but the print for holidays etc. is, in some places, barely legible.
The problem has occurred at the graphic design level. Someone in the original process was not thinking about usability when they picked that kind of background. Instead, they chose aesthetics. That might be fine with some people, but I find it rather inconvenient, and I can't imagine a company actually wanting holidays etc. to be that hard to read. While the design is cool, they could have maintained a cleaner look for the calendar squares themselves, while still having vibrant pictures on the top.
If I simply utilized my small wall calendar to know which day it was, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it. But because I actually use it, I took into consideration more aspects. It makes me think, yet again, about always putting oneself in the user's shoes.
(Yes, I posted something to do with Star Wars on "May the 4th". Believe it or not, I didn't even realize it until after the fact!)