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Functionality and Form of QR Codes

Find out how form meets function in QR codes.

Author:Elisa Mueller
Reviewer:Kaleem Kirkpatrick
Apr 10, 20231104 Shares551759 Views
So much of digital and mobile media is about performance: How many clicks did it result in? How can we optimize site traffic? What’s the average time spent or completion rate? How many virtual gifts were shared? All important information, but too often some of the most crucial components of advertising are left untapped: Creativity and building brand equity.
One way marketers are recapturing creativity and whimsy in advertising is through the artistic mutation of QR codes. In essence, QR codes are quite a functional marketing tactic – a simple conduit from offline experiences to mobile/online content. As a quick refresher, a QR (quick response) code is a two-dimensional barcode that looks something like a computerized Rorschach test and holds much more data than a conventional barcode. When scanned by a QR reader on a mobile phone, QR codes can deliver robust content to the user such as a mobile website, a video, or really anything you can imagine.
So, very functional, designed to get you from point A to point B. But because the decryption algorithm used to generate QR codes allows for about a 7-30% error margin, some brands have started to add a little whimsy into their QR designs.

Here Are Some Examples:

  • Disney movie posters in Japan
  • Billboard to promote a Kanye West album
  • A beautiful QR code design to promote HBO’s Boardwalk Empire
Some common uses for QR codes are as a quick way to send users to a mobile website, deliver multimedia content to them on the go, sign them up for offers and promotions, provide more information about a product, create fun scavenger hunt games, even potentially as an alternate means of purchase.
In short, the possibilities for QR codes are endless. Not only can marketers use them to deliver all manner of compelling, useful, and interesting content to users, but their designs can deliver strong branding and creative messaging never before possible.
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Elisa Mueller

Elisa Mueller

Author
Elisa Mueller was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to a mother who taught reading and a father who taught film. As a result, she spent an excessive amount of her childhood reading books and watching movies. She went to the University of Kansas for college, where she earned bachelor's degrees in English and journalism. She moved to New York City and worked for Entertainment Weekly magazine for ten years, visiting film sets all over the world.
Kaleem Kirkpatrick

Kaleem Kirkpatrick

Reviewer
Kaleem weaves song and story together with experience from his 12 year career in business and sales to deliver a mesmerizing tale of wealth and anger – the ups and downs of disruption – using his expertise in music and entertainment. His background in philosophy and psychology allows him to simplify the science of why we construct trends, where they come from, and how to alter them to improve outcomes.
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