TECHNO

Retailers are including the blocky boxes in ads, on brochures and flyers, and even on their shop fronts, to allow people instant access to their websites, contact details, catalogues, special offers and much more. Chris Partridge explains

The importance of QR Codes

Garment makers are beginning to place codes on labels to give the customer instant access to the history of the item, its provenance, sustainability and all the other information that buyers like to know these days but that can’t all be squeezed onto a label smaller than the back of a bus. QR codes can even give information about the individual item, such as the date of manufacture, the specific materials used and so on.

QR codes were relatively rare until the pandemic, when track and trace made them ubiquitous. Now everyone knows that to read one, all you need to do is point your smartphone’s camera at it and wait for the web link to appear. It is amazing how quickly everyone learns how to do it, when you can’t get into the pub until you can.

In fashion QR codes new popularity has prompted many in the fashion industry to investigate uses. The R Collective in Hong Kong, for example, prints codes on the labels of its upcycled jeans which gives access to a website with information about the supply chain and tips on sustainable product care such as reduced-energy washing, restyling the jeans to prolong their life, and on recycling.

Fashion brand Gabriella Hearst prints a QR code on labels to give consumers access to a garment’s journey, with the narrative of the design, the materials used, country of origin and production processes; it even includes the carbon footprint.

Australian shopping website Klarna held a fashion show where the models didn’t wear the garments at all – they strode down the catwalk wearing dressing gowns and carrying boards with QR codes that linked to product online (all in the name of social distancing, of course.)

QR codes are also being used in one of the fastest-growing areas of fashion, garment rental. Danish brand Ganni is collaborating with Levi’s to rent out iconic 501 jeans. The unique selling point is that the jeans get better with wear, with no two people ever renting any one pair of jeans. The code gives a history of the individual garment and emphasises its unique pedigree.

It is surprisingly easy to generate and print QR codes using websites (see panl on right hand page) that take you through the process step by step. And most of them are free, which is a bonus.

First of all, you choose the type of content that you want to appear when the code is read. You can include the URL of your website, a vCard

BEST QR CODE GENERATING SERVICES

KAYWA

qrcode.kaywa.com Simplicity itself, creating basic codes for URLs, contact information and coupons. With a Kaywa account, you can track usage.

GOQR.me

goqr.me Works best with short URLs, but can store text, locations and event data. Gives a live preview for testing, which is nice. For a fee, a designer will add your logo to your code.

SHOPIFY

shopify.com/tools/qr-code-generator The popular online shop creation service offers this easy way to create QR codes for items in your online shop in one click. And you don’t even have to be a Spotify client to use it for free.

with your contact details, text, email addresses, images or links to your social media streams.

You will also need to choose between a static or dynamic code. A static code is simple and needs no maintenance but cannot be edited. If you want to change the details that appear on the customers’ phones, you will need a dynamic code.

You can also customise the code by, for example, incorporating your logo or including themes from your website. Don’t overdo it, though - go too far and you could make the code difficult to scan.

The finished code is supplied in one of several forms depending on whether it is primarily for printing or displaying on screens; jpeg is the most popular.

The best places to use QR codes are in printed material such as brochures and fliers, and of course on the shop front so brides can get your contact details even when you are closed. However, it is not generally a good idea to place them online, such as on social media posts that are most often read on a phone – it is very frustrating to be invited to scan a QR code when you can’t because your camera is on the back of the screen you are looking at.

Other creative ways to use QR codes are bound to emerge, but one novel use by a bride-to-be at her hen party is unlikely to be widely adopted. She wore a T-shirt with a QR code linking to her PayPal account, with the words “Buy the Bride a Drink” over it. It is not recorded how many people scanned the code, but it is believed she got very drunk anyway.

VISUALEAD

m.visualead.com Creates a ‘visual’ QR code with colour elements that really catch the eye.

QR CODE GENERATOR

qr-code-generator.com A simple and intuitive code generator – just drop a link in the box and it does the rest, automatically detecting the type of URL and producing a code in seconds.