blackandwhitesquares site archived

BAWS website archived

After 6 years finding and posting the most innovative and inspirational QR and 2D code uses, I felt it was time to stop the site.

The BAWS website has now been archived, no further posts will be published.

Thanks for visiting blackandwhitesquares.com

Windows 10 ‘Blue Screens of Death’ adding QR codes to explain errors

Great example QR code use to simplify a lot of complex information down to a simple interaction, getting users quickly to a support page to help troubleshoot an issue.

QR Code Scanner

QRcodescan.in, a progressive web app which should work in all modern browsers. Point your browser at qrcodescan.in

Features

Works offline
Add to home screen
Responsive
Material Design

Are You Scanning Me, or Am I Scanning You?

Most people were more tentative, asking for consent first before offering me a choice by asking: 我扫你还是你扫我? — Are you scanning me, or am I scanning you? In other words: are you a QR top, or bottom?

The experience of scanning QR Codes and making friends via WeChat in China.

writing-system:

HRQR
Human Readable Quick Response

Source

(Source: https://player.vimeo.com/)

Alibaba embraces new visual QR-style codes

A new twist on the traditional black and white matrix code has been done many times before. This time its by Visualead, who have featured on BAWS before. The ‘dotless visual codes’ (hmm), only require the corner dots to scan, leaving 90% available for logos or imagery. They have partnered with the giant Alibaba to help combat counterfeit goods, so expect this format to become commonplace.

image-rendering | CSS-Tricks

A new CSS property allows control of the way the browser optimises images. If you have small blocky images with sharp details, for example a QR code, you will have seen how increasing an images size often makes details blurry.

The ‘image-rendering’ property allows you to specify the image needs to remain sharp at larger sizes.

img {
  image-rendering: pixelated;
}

Perfect for keeping responsive QR codes sharp and scan-able on the web.

Update: Sime Vidas has a comprehensive list of css properties for crisp pixelated images across screen resolutions.

The term often used is 扫一扫 (sǎo yī sǎo), sweep a little (as with a broom). I prefer this operative verb to our “scan”, which conjures images of tricorders and medical equipment.

Dan Grover, in his observations on ‘Chinese Mobile App UI Trends’, describing his experience of relocating to China, explains the term used by the Chinese for describing the act of scanning a QR Code.

Quikkly creates a friendlier 2d barcode

‘Action Tags’ are Quikkly’s solution to the issue of recognisability for end users. By displaying a company logo or image, plus a clear call to action they hope will reduce some of the ambiguity associated with some QR codes and lead to a logical experience for users.

You can build an Action Tag on the Quikkly site for use with their app.