QR Codes can be found is some very unexpected places due to their versatility and small size. As you can see here, even delicious sweets find a great use for a QR Code. Being able to store a fair amount of data in a small space makes the QR Code and excellent option for small product labeling.

For assistance determining the best barcode for your needs, contact us at Barcodes Inc.

The many uses of QR Codes never ceases to amaze and you’d never think it could be used to act like turntable!

Record label Kontor was aiming to promote one of their artists and wanted to avoid the usual CD/USB drive/MP3 route as these promos usually end up in he trash bin and never get listened to. Luckily, they turned to OgilvyAction who came up with the incredible idea of sending out vinyl discs with a QR Code so it could be played on a ‘turntable’ made from the envelope it came in. It is actually a pretty amazing idea as you can see from the video below.

The campaign was a success with 71% of the 900 turntable QR Codes activated and 42% following the link to the Kontor online store. OgilvyAction say this was 64% more than the average response and with the bonus that they received great feedback from some of the industry’s most influential people.

It’s always interesting to see how barcodes make their way into or influence various type of artworks but “Ultraviolet -The Blue Carpet” by French artist Jonathan Bréchignac might me one of the most impressive. He hand drew this  2.5 ft × 4 ft design on paper using just blue Bic pens and Ultraviolet ink! It took  and took eight months to complete and will be showing  as part of the “The Blue Route” exhibition  from September 27, 2013 to February 9, 2014 at  at Villa Empain in Brussels. The intricacy, detail, and scope of the work is quite amazing. Each of the four QR Codes in the work take you to mysterious pages like this one. Hopefully we’ll end up seeing more great works from Bréchignac in the future!

Most of the time when we use the term ‘barcode design’ there really isn’t much design work involved outside of making sure the right data gets encoded in the right symbology. Creativity and barcode design software don’t often make it into the same sentence but it’s one area where you can really improve and have some fun with your product packaging.

Artist Steve Simpson has been making the most of UPC barcodes with some very interesting and creative takes on how a product code can be better integrated into packaging design. He even provides some tips and rules to follow to make sure the code is still readable.

Though they may not take center stage most of the time, barcodes are a part of everyday life even if we don’t realize it. From every product you buy or use to tracking patients at a hospital, barcodes have become deeply integrated into modern life.  It’s no surprise then that such a culturally embedded technology would effect other realms like architecture and design.

These are some of the more interesting examples of buildings that take their design inspiration from the humble little barcode.

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While barcodes are a crucial tool for trade and commerce, they have also sneaked their way into cultural norms as well. From being used as props in sci-fi films to barcode tattoos, the humble barcode has become such a commonplace item that it is only natural it has become an object of popular culture.

Probably one of the funniest uses of the term barcode comes from Japan. “Barcode hair” is a commonly used term to describe a balding gentleman that comes over his hair. As you  can see in the image, barcode is the first thing to come to mind. Not the most endearing term but definitely descriptive.

I wonder if a 2D imager could read this?

In has been 40 years now since a group of grocery store executives collectively decided to help unify product identification with the use of a barcode. No one would have know at that time that a simple set of black and white lines would become one of the most important technologies for trade in the 20th century.

The Universal Product Code (UPC) was the first movement to a standardized tool that every manufacturer and retailer could use to easily track products, maintain inventory better, and help speed up check-out lanes at the point of sale. The humble UPC hasn’t changed much since its creation in April 1973 but continues to provide an easy and efficient means to manage any product throughout its life cycle.

To better illustrate the UPC bar code’s extensive use and importance, Brussels-based nonprofit GS1, which maintains international UPC standards, has posted an online ticker to count the number of bar codes scanned around the world each day. According to GS1, the average number of daily scans clocks in at more than 5 billion! To think all this started with the first scan of a 10-pack of Juicy Fruit gum at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, OH in 1974.

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Just 12 seconds into the latest trailer for Star Trek into Darkness the same barcode scanners that decorated the bridge of the 2009 Star Trek movie, come barely back into focus as set pieces in the latest installment.

The barcode scanners are the same ones and in the same positions as in the previous movie. This is understandable given that one of the barcode scanners they use (the Honeywell MS9540) is also know as the “Voyager”.

From the trailer it looks like the Enterprise(?) comes in for a crash landing at some point during the movie, so maybe Paramount will need to buy more barcode scanners from Barcodes Inc for the third movie. 🙂