The practice of promoting films through QR codes is becoming more and more popular. Usually, the codes are tucked away in the corner of posters and other print material. However, there may be promise in using a designer code as the focal point of the promotional effort. Such a code is in use for the upcoming movie Bob and the Monster – a documentary about musician Bob Forrest and his struggle with drug addiction. The posters are popping up all over Los Angeles, California, and the QR code taking up the majority of the poster has garnered quite a lot of attention.
Designer codes are stylized QR codes. When the conventional design will not suffice, companies often turn to design firms to produce a more engaging, yet still functional, code. The demand for these codes has begun to rise recently, especially after famed design company SET Japan produced several for humanitarian efforts in the wake of the Japanese earthquake disaster.
Warbasse Design, a graphic design firm based in California, produced the code for the movie. The company has made a number of codes for the film industry, including codes for True Blood and Iron Man 2. This particular code links to a mobile website where mobile users can purchase tickets to local showings of the movie and find out more about the project via a number of social media sites.
Given that QR codes can be stylized to be more attractive and still retain their scannability, more companies may soon invest in designer codes in the future.
