A Study of QR Codes in the Real World
The previous article looked at the explosion of QR barcodes and whether they’re just a fad or something that’s likely to stick around for a while. Over the past week I’ve been taking a closer look at QR codes around Bristol and Bath, seeing how they work in the real world. Below are some of the more interesting examples I came across, and looking at what worked and what didn’t.
Ten points to Betfair for originality on this one. This strategic placing of the code means that it could only be realistically scanned from a newspaper photograph taken of the back of the bikini. Though it’s more likely that the code is a clever marketing stunt to generate talk about the brand, which worked fantastically.
Tinc is a funky stationary company, with these barcodes taken from their outlet in Bath. They have also tried to tie in their marketing campaign based on competition between stationary colours with QR codes. It’s a great idea that unfortunately falls down in its implementation. The blue, pink and especially grey barcodes have such a low contrast ratio that they are very hard to scan with most readers. On the website the poll ratings for different colours are closely related to the ease of scanning too. Yet with a bit of refinement it would make for an interesting, original use of QR codes.
Tinc's 'Follow Us on Twitter' QR code is simple with a great design however.
Here’s another novel use of QR codes, placed on a billboard for a new commercial development. It’s a bit tricky to scan, but when done, links to a webpage containing all sorts of useful information about the building a potential tenant would want to know. I saw another one of these by the same company in Bristol, but the billboard was placed on the side of a high-rise building. So unless you’re this guy you’re going to find it pretty tricky to scan.
This QR code for The Weymouth Seaside Express is placed on a platform at Bristol Temple Meads station, and is noticeably huge. The code directs to an easy-to-use, mobile optimised site providing genuinely useful information about the trip. A great example of an effective QR code, except that it could probably do with being reduced in size a bit, blighting an otherwise attractive poster.
First Great Western, you were so close but so far! A great idea, instead of looking for and browsing through a complicated timetable, a QR code that directs you to an online link instead. However when scanned it takes you to a pdf document (which in the case of the London to Paddington timetable consisted of 89 pages!). Massively complicated to navigate, takes up loads of bandwidth, and harder to use then the regular timetable. With a mobile optimised, searchable page this would be a great tool, but for now is pointless.
The Metro is full of QR codes, I counted seven in today’s edition and they have been pushing their own version lately, though is there any point? The paper is primarily read by commuters, either on the bus or train. Now there are not many train services that have any sort of reliable internet connection, making accessing the link pretty tricky. My page was loading very slowly until we went under a tunnel and lost all connection. Heaven help people trying it out on the Tube. When you do have a bit of internet, the code simply takes you to a non-mobile optimised version of The Metro homepage, with mostly the same articles that were in the paper you just read. Baffling.
Organisations seem to plonk QR barcodes onto their media without much of a thought about the customer journey. Others such as Weymouth Seaside Express have obviously thought about how to best implement the codes and it works. Betfair used QR codes as a way of generating talk about their brand, with massive success.
A universal theme was the dull design of the codes. Not a single one of the 21 codes scanned during the week had any design alterations (apart from colour on two of them) with some Photoshop skills you can make something look funky and have brand identity.
What examples have you seen of codes that work well or don’t? There’s a big white space below where you can tell us.