It was 1980s, the Japanese economy was booming and the demand for manufactured products and electronics soared exponentially. Many manufacturers were scrambling to find a technological solution to solve the problem of tracking things and keeping an accurate inventory of things. The Japanese auto parts manufacturing company Denso Wave, which had a partnership with Toyota to assemble auto parts and it needed a simple way to track auto parts moving through the assembly line. Barcode, the 1D barcodes with actual bars, wasn’t sufficient due to its less data writing capacity (up to 20 alphanumeric). They asked their engineer, one Masahiro Hara, to get on this and find an efficient solution that was able to productively track components used in the automotive industry.
In 1994, inspired by the popular game GO, the black and white patterns of the game, Hara invented QR Codes. A QR code, short for Quick Response, is 2D (Matrix) barcode image with black and white patterns that can hold URL, text, numbers, image, PDF, Google form etc.
They say ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ and that’s exactly what happened. QR codes were invented to track and trace auto parts inside the factory but some 30 years later when Hara, now 66, was asked how he felt about QR codes helping people during the global coronavirus pandemic, vis-à-vis contact tracing, contactless payments, qr menus, etc. he said, “I’m really pleased that it’s being been used to help improve people’s safety,….Back in 1994 we were focused on its use in the economy … we never thought it would be used for something like this.”
The Quick Response Code now finds many such creative applications, some however, unimaginable. Let’s see some of these creative QR Code uses in 2023:
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1. QR codes on Gravestones
An article published in The Atlantic, titled QR Codes for the dead highlights the fact that QR code now can be seen in unlikeliest of the places and on unusual objects rather than billboards and newspapers and restaurant menus.
QR codes on Gravestones is making graveyards a smart space and it is a quite creative use of this technology, printing a QR code along with the name of the person lying there and the usual details. Most often these QR codes contain URL or PDF or image where you can know the person more closely, pay your tributes, view obituaries, eulogies or the family tree of the deceased.
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2. QR code on Wine Bottle labels
Promotion and marketing is the key to any business success in today’s time but a creative ad or promotion has the ability to engage more customers and that is why many wineries and wine brands are using QR codes on wine bottle labels. There’s only so much you can mention on a wine bottle label but QR can be a great way to tempt customers to know about your brand. QR code on wine bottles can be designed, keeping in mind the total aesthetics of the wine bottle, and can be written with information such as the history of the wine, the vineyard, and curated cocktail recipes.
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3. QR on posters linking to free books
Another great use of QR codes is free books. Who doesn’t like free books, pdf or paperback? People who want to give away old books, that they want to share with more people, or people who want to share online links to free books that they might come across, can use QR codes. They can write the QR code with address, contact no., or the URL. In the long run, I think this will really catch on.
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4. QR in museums and art galleries
Taking about creativity and not talking of art and artifacts? Impossible. QR codes can be used next to artworks in exhibitions and customized with more information on the artworks such as name of the artist, possible inspiration and story behind the artwork, painting style, the color, and canvas etc.
In museums, QR codes can be helpful, giving out all kinds of information to visitors as well.
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5. QR code on resume and portfolio
Another creative use of QR code, I believe, is QR code on resume and portfolio. There’s only so much info that you can have on a resume or a portfolio and sometimes it’s difficult to convince a possible employer or client that they are making a right choice with you. A QR can be very helpful here if you add a url to a short video where you can talk about yourself and simply add all the things and more you’d put on a resume or a portfolio. A video message will have great chance to present you positively.
It will highlight the passion and the potential in you rather proactively than a piece of paper.
QR codes have made a great comebacks from the 2010s when it were suddenly very popular once and then somehow got lost in the oblivion but post 2017, we have seen a sharp rise in QR code uses and many creative ones to be honest. From retail to advertisement and marketing, and digital payments, it’s everywhere now.
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