Five rules for QR codes that actually get scanned

A QR code is only as useful as the scans it gets. After watching a lot of campaigns succeed and fail, the same five mistakes keep showing up. Avoid them and you get most of the scans most of the time.

1. Make the contrast obvious

Dark code on a light background. Do not get clever with a low-contrast brand palette. Phone cameras need the difference to lock on.

2. Respect the quiet zone

Leave empty space around the code. About four modules wide. Without it, scanners struggle to find the corners.

3. Print it big enough

For arm's-length scanning, at least 2 cm by 2 cm. For across-a-room (billboards, signs), ten times that. When in doubt, bigger wins.

4. Put it where people pause

Tables. Packaging. Menus. Signs at eye level. Codes on the side of a bus scan worse than codes on a coffee cup. Because nobody stands still.

5. Tell them why

Add one line: Scan for the menu. Scan for 20% off. A naked QR code is a mystery. A labelled one is an invitation. The single highest-impact change you can make.

That is it. Five rules, every campaign.