The QR code (Quick Response code) is a type of two-dimensional code that was first designed for the automotive industry by Denso Wave in 1994. It was originally used by Toyota to track vehicles during the manufacturing process and has grown in popularity over the last few years due to its fast readability and comparatively large storage capacity as well as the dramatic increase in the use of smart phones worldwide and their capabilities of making use of QR codes. You are not limited in terms of length, size and space. Traditional advertising has always worked according to limits; hence you pay for additional airtime, additional advertising space, additional newspaper columns etc. By fixing a QR code to your advertisement, you are literally limitless in the amount of information you can include in your ad.

There seem to be limitless ways of using these two-dimensional codes. Advertisers and marketers around the world are constantly trying to discover new ways of integrating and making use of these codes. In Japan, tombstone creator Ishinokoe (Voice of the Stone) of Yamanashi Prefecture, will soon offer tombstones featuring embedded QR codes. He refers to these as “Kuyou no Mado” (Memorial Service Window), which allows visitors that are visiting the resting place of the deceased, to scan the code and receive information about the individual.

On the 16th of June 2011, French tattoo artist K.A.R.L. supposedly created the first animated QR code tattoo. The tattoo consisted of a QR code adorned with cogs and flowers, K.A.R.L displayed the whole event via a live stream. Once the artwork was complete, he proceeds to place a smart phone on the piece which then plays an animation that is stylized in order to make the tattoo seem like it is moving.