We’ve all seen these guys. Cryptic little scrambled squares that seem to be overtaking magazine pages, billboards, and are even showing up on TV. Yep, the QR code is no longer a novelty or a niche, but seems to be a requirement on all corporate collateral in the 21st century. But why? The initial success of this technology was seen in subcultures that embrace both its aesthetic qualities and cryptic value. It was perfect to stand as a symbol only for those in the know, with the proper equipment, who code get information that was unattainable to others. It created an in crowd and an out crowd and you either got it or you didn’t.

Not only are these codes used in broader contexts now, their use makes an assumption that a large number of people who see an advertisement adorned by a QR code will: see it, take their smartphone out of their pocket, launch an application, and then interact with whatever content is loaded on their device. And due to the undecipherable nature of its visuals the reader needs to be coaxed into going through the ritual, they need the end goal to be worth the effort they’re about to put in to this interaction. Which means that an ample amount of language needs to accompany the code in order to make it viable to a large audience, to make it accessible and at this point the message is no longer about the brand’s message, it’s about the QR code.

Now there’s definitely a time and a place for this technology, but it’s important to remember the context in which it will actually help a potential reader, and not make an outsider of them.