The Quick Response (QR) Code

The QR code is a machine-readable code, capable of storing strings of information. The QR code was developed by the Japanese company DENSO WAVE INC. in 1994 (Denso Wave, n.d.) The code was designed to replace the linear barcodes of the time. Denso Wave Inc

explain that linear barcode users were asking for a code that could “contain Japanese Kanji and Kana characters as well as alphanumeric ones.

The QR code’s two-dimensional code allows for far greater storage capacity and vocabulary than the previous, linear, code. The standard-sized QR codes are capable of storing up to 7000 characters with up to ten times the read speed of its predecessor.

The initial take-up of the new code started in the automotive industry. Usage of the new format migrated into the pharma, food, and lens manufacturing industries, but it was not until 2002 that the general public became aware of and started using the code. Although this was originally just in Japan.

Over the next decade, the code was awarded ISO accreditation as an international barcode standard. JIS accreditation followed soon after. In 2008 Denso introduced a small footprint QR code, which held less information but could be printed and used on far smaller items, and in 2014 released the FrameQR code, a format that allowed customisation of the code appearance to include graphics and images.

As the code grew in popularity, phone manufacturers included QR reading software into their device’s operating system, and app developers began producing QR code generators. These new apps leveraged all of the technological features of the new codes to combine images, photographs, logos, a wide range of colour choices, square, and anchor point customisation. Today QR codes are frequently used within the public sphere to provide quick and easy communication of website or social media addresses, and personal contact information in the format of an electronic contact card.

Research in China suggests the uptake of QR code-based mobile payment has grown to the extent that QR code payments represented 85% of all mobile payments in 2020, a significant increase from previous years, possibly due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions (Ming et al.,  2022). In 2018 research into the use of QR codes within education claimed their uses to be highly versatile and students to have “very positive attitudes towards QR code utilization for course-related activities” (Tu et al., 2018) The use of the QR code has not yet peaked and will continue to grow as new uses are developed and public take-up expands.

To learn more about QR creation and uses I downloaded a free QR code generator for my iPhone. The free version of the app only offered restricted use but I created and tested several QR code designs.

Within the app, I was able to select custom templates that include visual designs that surround the code element, colour and dot design options, the option to add logos, custom images, and a range of other features. I was able to generate QR codes that included: telephone numbers, email addresses, auto text messaging, full contact card details, social media account links, and website links. Here is a selection of my creations:

RABU, A., Et Al, 2019. QR code utilization in a large classroom: Higher education students’ initial perceptions. Educ Inf Technol (24), 359–384. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-018-9779-2

DENSO WAVE INC, n.d. The History of the QR Code [viewed 07/10/2024]. Available from: https://www.qrcode.com/en/history/

MICROSOFT, 2023. A brief history of QR codes [viewed 07/10/2024]. Available from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-life-hacks/privacy-and-safety/brief-history-qr-codes#:~:text=In%201994%2C%20a%20Denso%20Wave,see%20the%20connection%20between%20QR.

TU, M., et al., 2022. The Adoption of QR Code Mobile Payment Technology During COVID-19: A Social Learning Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology (12), Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.79819