RadioShack (yes, RadioShack) is getting into QR codes and encouraging designers to build projects using parts from their stores. Check out how this group, Instructables created an innovative QR code out of LED, batteries and paper.
Visit RadioShack’s DIY website for more info on The Great Create projects.
QR codes are now so trendy, they are appearing on clothing. I spotted these hipsters at Bite of Seattle. The codes were promoting vacations to Victoria, B.C.
I like the shirt below, which surrounds the QR code with an array of geometric patterns. This one is sold by Scanme.com, which worked with Ray-Ban and Wired Magazine designer Matt W. Moore.
What do you think of QR codes on fashion? Is it cool? Or is it trying too hard to look cool?
Along with the jump in mobile web traffic, I’ve noticed an increase in response to QR code advertising from January to March 2011. QR codes are black and white codes that can be scanned by smartphones to bring up a website. As you can see from these graphs, the increase in response from month to month is significant.
Visits to my org’s website through QR code 1
Visits to my org’s website through QR code 2
Background Info: In January, my org put out 3 ads that incorporated QR codes in Dallas and Cleveland. By February 1, we had 12 QR codes running in ads in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and New York, in addition to Dallas and Cleveland. But from February to March, there was no difference in the number of ads that showed QR codes. In fact, our ads stayed the same in all markets.
So I wonder if the jump that we see from February to March can be attributed to the fact that QR codes are becoming more visible in billboards and magazines, and more people are taking notice of them.
I am a web strategist and writer in Seattle. My career has spanned from old media (published in The New York Times) to new media (Twitter poet). When I'm not at my desk, I love riding my bicycle. 
