It’s become nearly impossible to leave your house without seeing QR codes scattered everywhere. They’re on billboards, in your newspaper, even on your cereal box — enticing you to scan them with your smartphone, and then leading you to who-knows-where on the Web.
Where will the QR code madness end?!
Two designers set out to find the craziest usage of QR (Quick Response) codes and poke fun at them. The result is a new Tumblr called WTF QR Codes
“I started taking pictures of them just to capture the ridiculousness,” says Brad Frost, a mobile web strategist and front-end designer at digital ad agency R/GA. “I started scanning them because many should go to worthwhile mobile-optimized web experiences, and as a web designer I was curious to see if that actually happens — it almost always doesn’t.”
The site is a side project for Frost and Craig Villamor, who is the director of mobile user experience at Salesforce.
“Using QR codes to drive people to the very TV spots they skip over with DVR isn’t just bad user experience, it’s insulting,” says Frost.
Although Frost says there are most certainly good opportunities for QR Codes, such as paying bills or playing web games between various screens, this form of technology is being misused by marketers.
“With augmented reality, NFC and photo recognition all on the cusp of becoming mainstream, I think we’ll see a drop in QR codes — but until then we have some great fodder to work with,” says Frost.
The creators of WTF QR Codes have selected the most “WTF,” hilarious picks of the website. Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
1. Flying QR Codes
Where will the QR code madness end?!
Two designers set out to find the craziest usage of QR (Quick Response) codes and poke fun at them. The result is a new Tumblr called WTF QR Codes
“I started taking pictures of them just to capture the ridiculousness,” says Brad Frost, a mobile web strategist and front-end designer at digital ad agency R/GA. “I started scanning them because many should go to worthwhile mobile-optimized web experiences, and as a web designer I was curious to see if that actually happens — it almost always doesn’t.”
The site is a side project for Frost and Craig Villamor, who is the director of mobile user experience at Salesforce.
“Using QR codes to drive people to the very TV spots they skip over with DVR isn’t just bad user experience, it’s insulting,” says Frost.
Although Frost says there are most certainly good opportunities for QR Codes, such as paying bills or playing web games between various screens, this form of technology is being misused by marketers.
“With augmented reality, NFC and photo recognition all on the cusp of becoming mainstream, I think we’ll see a drop in QR codes — but until then we have some great fodder to work with,” says Frost.
The creators of WTF QR Codes have selected the most “WTF,” hilarious picks of the website. Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
1. Flying QR Codes
"Look! In the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen in my life!"
"Simply climb down onto the tracks, carefully step over the third rail… Now, launch your QR scanner and… TRAIN!"
Stats for this QR Code: 15 scans, 47 deaths.
(Marketing firm says “What was the conversion rate on those 15 scans?!")
(Marketing firm says “What was the conversion rate on those 15 scans?!")
"Have you been struggling to answer the question 'How do I let an entire subway car know that I have bedbugs?' Well look no further!"
Q: What’s better than scanning a QR code on a cereal box?
A: Scanning a QR code on a cereal box every hour on the hour.
A: Scanning a QR code on a cereal box every hour on the hour.
The QR code is from a German website, but the creators of WTF QR Code think it translates to something awful.
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