Lately you may have noticed more and more funny looking black and white squares popping up on posters, adverts and even business cards? 

These little squares are called QR (Quick Response) codes. They have been around since the mid 1990's when they were created by Toyota as ID tags for their car parts. Faster and more accurate than barcodes (and from a design point of view, somewhat more attractive!) they have begun to creep into a whole variety of new uses. However with the increase of smart phone ownership, and bar code reading apps, they have really come into their own. 

According to recently released figures from Mobio, from July to December last year, QR code scanning grew by a massive 1200%. 

The creation of QR codes is very easy and cost effective, even free in some cases, and monitoring the response is equally easy. Websites such as QRtrace, QRstuff and Delivr allow you to create a code based on a web address, text, a map reference and many other useful bits of information. Scanning them is equally easy, phone apps such as QR Reader, Bakodo and Beetagg are free and easy to use. Try scanning the code in this article to see how it works.

Even more exciting is the fact that you can track how many times your code has been clicked, and where in the world they were, with some tracking systems being so accurate you can
even tell which poster sites work best in the same town. 

So how can you use QR codes to promote your business?  Here are just a few suggestions to get you started, but really, your imagination is the only limit. 

Business Cards 
Gone are the days of manually typing in details from a business card, or using a card scanner. Adding the information within a QR code means your clients can now capture your details with a click. 

Competitions
Enable your customers to enter magazine competitions by taking them to a web page where they can register. Much easier than getting them to fill in a printed form and posting it to you.

Consumer advice
Place codes alongside product info to provide further information. For example, if you're selling cheese, you could link to a recipe for that cheese, or suggest a wine that might go with it. 

Coupons
Make it easy for customers to get special offer coupons. Place a QR code on the shelf, advert, point of sale, or even in the shop window - why not give people information even when you're shut?

Advertising
Anything that can be printed on can become an advert for your company. Apart from the obvious - printed adverts, leaflets and brochures - QR codes can be printed on t-shirts, place mats, sports gear, vehicle livery and any number of small items such as keyrings, badges and other things too small for a large amount of information. 

Social networking
Why not send people straight to your Facebook page, or your Twitter account? Particularly if you are targeting a young audience, this instant (and lets face it - fun) connection into their preferred method of communication will certainly give you the edge over the competition.

Off the wall!
Here are just a few of the more creative uses of QR codes. Get in touch if you have seen any others and we'll share the best ones on twitter. You can follow us at hotsanddesign to see them. 

World Park Campaign
 
Set Japan

Sandcastle QR