The following is a blog by Esponce who interviewed Jim Divine, Graphics Design Director at QR Code Scotland. Esponce are one of the world's top QR Code producers and supply QR Code Scotland with high quality QR Codes.
Some people LOVE QR codes others loath them. But love or loath, the important thing is that people HAVE an opinion of them. The biggest reason for this divided opinion is that some early experiences of scanning QR codes was not great. This is changing as more and more people begin to see the benefits that what QR codes can give to them and their business.
Understanding that QR Codes are offline printed hyperlinks that enable consumers to move from the physical world to the online world with one click, means that you have a very powerful device that is cheap and easy to use. It is a simple, easy to use system that allows marketers and brands to engage with users on the go. The usage is growing exponentially and marketers are learning and becoming more aware of how to use them correctly, and most importantly, to avoid mistakes that lead to bad experiences.
The fact that custom designed QR Codes get 30% more scans than the conventional black and white ones is a great reason to create a visually attractive code for your products, they help enhance any competitions that you are running in the offline world. Adding customized codes to your marketing mix can make the difference between someone scanning your code or not. Breathe life into a QR code by adding a brand colors and graphics. You can enhance your brand values and your code and this will tell users that you took the time to carefully design and create the full experience that they are about to undertake. When QR code campaigns have been designed correctly, the results can be
outstanding. Not to forget to mention that another important aspect is that users can easily identity the brand or company behind the custom code and this delivers a bigger impact with proof of authenticity, that this code is safe to scan. The customized QR code also has the massively added value: your users know exactly where is has come from. This overcomes the security risks that non-branded codes can be tarnished with. Why would you scan a code that has no visual clues of where it will take you? Would you eat or drink something from a package that was blank? Would you walk through a door blindfolded? This is something you must consider as part of your QR code planning.
The biggest challenge is how to design attractive codes, ensuring that they work as good as black and white ones. It is definitely not an easy job and we reach out to one of the best custom QR Code designers, Jim Divine to share his knowledge.
Hi Jim, can you tell us how and why you got into QR codes?
I first got into QR codes when I was doing a lot of design for top British comedian Bill Bailey. Bill was the first guy I knew who had an iPhone. He wanted to use barcodes in his marketing and promotional material but after looking at the deadlines and content, we decided not to go for it. I then looked around to see if there was an alternative to bar codes and found QR codes.
What did you first experience when you scanned your first QR code?
I was blown away by my first scan and I think that every first QR experience should be amazing. I had a magazine with an advertisement for District 9 the movie. I scanned it with my iPhone 3Gs and was hooked. The sound and graphics blew me away. It was then that I became fascinated with this amazing gift from Denso wave and decided I was going to find out everything I could about these Magic Squares.
I know that you spent many years experimenting with QR codes and you now create some of the best custom-made QR codes in the world, what was your motive?
I come from an Advertising/Graphic Design background and I always felt that Art Directors and Graphic Designers would not embrace the QR code in its raw black and white format. I myself would be reluctant to put a black and white stamp in the bottom corner of an ad or design that I’d spent days crafting. I felt that there must be a way of making them more aesthetically pleasing.
So how did you approach the problem?
I spent many hours sitting with a QR code on screen and began distorting it with Photoshop and illustrator to see when it failed. After many months of doing this and getting sore wrists form holding the phone, I found a set of distortion parameters in which the QR code would still scan successfully.
Is this when the Cyberlogo was created?
Yes. I managed to combine the DNA of the QR code with a big chunky logo (T3 Gadget magazine in fact), and was amazed at the result. I then sent this off to the Editor of T3 and was contacted immediately . They said they loved it and would I be happy creating a couple of CyberLogos for their publication.
Result?
Definitely. T3 ran an article about Cyberlogos and from there I was contacted by marketing departments from all kinds of companies big and small.
Did you ever experiment with other materials?
Yes, I had a presentation to one of the top cake decoration suppliers in the UK. I pre-warned the owner to load a QR code reader onto his phone before the presentation. His face was a picture when I turned up with a cake decorated with his chocolate chips and iced goodies. Thankfully it worked a treat.
Do you still believe in the QR code phenomenon as you did in the past?
Yes, probably even more so. I firmly nailed my colours to the mast years ago, as I believed this was a gift that marketers could use more effectively than anything that has gone before. If you think about it we have up to an extent turned advertising & marketing on its head. In the past, we used to provide Plasma TV’s, big screens, mobile projectors and all kinds of expensive hardware in order to show the customer what we could offer them. This was time consuming and expensive. Nowadays all we need to do is provide a little sticker or postcard and it’s the customer who provides the expensive hardware – result indeed.
Anything else?
Yes, another vital thing is, instead of marketers pushing and force-feeding the potential customer, the customers are pulling the material into their mobile devices when and where it suits them. This means that there is a much greater chance of them acting on the information they’ve gathered.
I know it may sound like a selfish question, but why did you choose Esponce?
I searched the Internet for many years looking for a company who could provide flawless high quality QR code DNA. I tried many different ways of using what was available but one day I stumbled upon you guys. As soon as I downloaded a sample code form your site I knew I had cracked it. Not only do Esponce provide the best QR DNA but also the behind-the-scenes mechanism is fantastic. I cannot rate you highly enough.
How far do you think you’ll be able to push QR codes?
I am still pushing QR Codes as hard as I can. Of course as mobile devices improve so does the scanning capability, which means there is more room for manoeuvre.
Is there anything that you see as a competitor to QR Code technology?
I have always believed that Augmented Reality is a neater solution in taking people from the analogue world into the digital one. The reason for this, in my opinion, is that there is no stamp, as such. Which as I said earlier, can detract from the aesthetic values of the piece you are creating. BUT, on the other hand, how do people know there is digital content in front of them when there are no visual indicators?
This is going to be the dilemma for marketers. I honestly believe that there is room for both technologies. QR offers a really simple inexpensive way of getting people to access content using their mobile devices (AR should acknowledge the groundwork that QR codes have done in this area). I often find that the content for QR campaigns is already available, unlike AR.
Some people say that QR codes are hard to access as most mobile devices do not have native readers, what do you think?
I think people have gone too soft. I remember the days when the Internet was on the periphery of society. If you wanted to embrace the technology you had to: Go to a shop or send away for a CD. You then had to contact your Telephone Company and order up a modem. When they eventually arrived you then had to follow some complex instructions and hope that it all came together. You then had to create a thing called an Email address and a password. If you were lucky you’d be hooked up to the Internet in a few weeks. That is what I call working to get technology. Nowadays, go to your App store, download a FREE QR code reader, begin scanning. Simple.
Where can we see some of the beautiful Codes you’ve created?
Which of your customised QR codes are you most proud of and why?
I am torn between a few of them, I love the cleverness of the metro code, the aesthetically pleasing nature of the Theakstons one and the incredible complexity of the Champions League one but I think I’d have to choose my Twitter one as my proudest work.
The reason I chose this is that the Twitter logo is pretty complex, it looks simple but when you look at the construction it has a lot of great design values. I took it on as a challenge as I knew that combining a QR code with a complex logo was a big task. I was delighted when I completed it and it has enabled me to pick up a pretty good Twitter following.
Thank you for your time Jim.
It’s been a pleasure.
About Jim Divine
Jim Divine is an award winning Graphic Designer who lives and breathes QR codes. He lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland and is the Graphics Design Director at QR Code Scotland.
