Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

As each day passes by, we discover yet another object to smack a barcode on.  QR  barcodes  help in providing information relating to almost everything from personal contact information, physical products to even most recently, real estate details. Swide explores how barcodes have reached new heights.

 If you’re blackberry addict, then you are no stranger to QR codes. Each blackberry user is designated an individual QR (quick response) code that can be easily shared, scanned and stored under contacts. QR codes, that were first developed in 1994 by Japanese corporation, Denso Wave; help to direct users to a particular address (url) on the internet. The potential uses of QR codes go far beyond exchanging  simple contact details.

QR codes are changing the way we communicate, shop and live. Imagine wanting to know where a friend bought his jacket. If a brand places a QR code on the inside tag, that friend as well as prospective buyers can scan the code and retrieve details as to where to buy it and price comparisons. Or imagine finding a lost pet and locating its owner through scanning the dog's tag. QR codes can be used practically everywhere from business cards, products, advertisements, restaurants and the list continues.

Primario Restaurant in Barcelona, Spain with QR code sign

Shopping made easy with QR label, concept by Avery Denninson
One of the most interesting uses of QR codes is when it’s incorporated into buildings and homes. ScanLife, a QR application, has been providing many real estate agencies with QR codes (in advertisements) to store  and share housing details with prospective home owners. The days of driving up to a house with a ‘For Sale’ sign and trying to track down the agents to get information will become a thing of the past; as QR codes provide the same service without the hassle.

Real Estate sign in pure QR script

Just when we’ve become dumbfounded of the endless possibilities QR codes provide, Qosmo inc and Teradadesign give us yet another reason to sigh in amazement. They’ve recently designed the N Building, located in Tachikawa in Japan, a commercial structure decorated with a QR barcode exterior. By holding up a mobile device to the N Building, customers are able to retrieve shop information.

 

N-building
It’s remarkable to find that QR codes have been around since 1994 and we’re only now started to incorporate them into our everyday lives. There’s something sci-fi about having a barcode on everything; items rapidly losing human connection. I suppose having mixed feelings is inevitable when change is introduced, but when we start having barcodes on the back of our neck like Jessica Alba in “Dark Angel”, then it’s time to start worrying.

Check out the Spanish spot by Codiga Coda- giving a glimpse of a QR code-run-world.

 

Timaj Alwan

 

Source: Various

Photo credit: Various

 

TAGS: bar code building