SXSW Wrapup: QR Codes Everywhere

This year at South By Southwest Interactive, QR Codes – high resolution barcodes used to deliver web addresses and other data to mobile phones by way of scanning with a phones built in camera – were EVERYWHERE. Amidst the seas of catchy flyers, posters, leaflets, coasters, handouts and stickers, almost everything had a QR code emblazoned on it. Even napkins in bars had QR Codes.


As I walked around the convention center, as well as parties, I tried to scan as many as I could, just to get a good survey of how codes were being used. For the most part, they were being used to drive to shortened links that then pointed to a given brands webpage. However, on a couple of occasions, the code brought my phone directly.

Here’s a collection of a few of the QR Codes seen, including on napkins!