Do Barcodes Work Better If They're Beautiful?

The creator of "aestheticodes" says he hopes to decorate the world with interesting, interactive surfaces.

Digital symbology needs a redesign. Barcodes aren't universal, and QR codes--which are--have never caught on. Together, they're a fairly disgraceful conduit between real life and digital life. Artists have attempted to pretty up these scannable data codes by assimilating logos into QR codes and using them as the basis of glitch art, and barcodes' vertical lines have been treated as design elements for more eye-catching package design. But generally speaking, consumers will only use technologies that are people friendly--much to the consternation of retail stores and advertisers, whose in-store barcode scanners and QR marketing campaigns inevitably flop.

Read Full Story