What are QR codes and examples of Artist’s Use

  • QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix bar code (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes.
  • The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardized kinds (“modes”) of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, Kanji), or through supported extensions, virtually any kind of data.
  • QR Codes can make whatever you want more interactive adding them to flyers, posters even t-shirts, bringing people from the physical world to the online world.
  • You can see some examples of how they are being used  here.
  • Want to make QR codes yourself, there are many QR code generators taking people to websites, send them a an SMS / text or call a phone number.
  • 1. http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
  • 2. http://goqr.me/
  • 3. http://beqrious.com/qr-code-generator/ – gives a lot of format options and advises on what functionality to look for in a QR generator and allows you to customise colour and download format.
  • 4. QR Media reviews 14 QR code generators
  • Below you can find a number of links that show you how artists are using QR codes to make art and show their work.
  • 1. Graffyard – Using QR codes to preserve graffiti for posterity by photographing the graffiti before it is removed (Sweza, 2012).
  • 2. Restoring Murals to their original state.
  • 3. QR Code Project in Amsterdam
  • 4. ‘Beautiful Traps’ by Yiying Lu
  • 5. The Twin Oaks gallery’s San Marcos QR Code exhibition –  the only works on display where QR codes that linked to the artists online portfolio.
  • 6. QR codes as artists marketing tool
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