Author: Kyzson

An event backdrop is a large printed graphic display placed behind a stage, booth, or focal area of an event. These backdrops typically feature branding elements, logos, event themes, sponsor graphics, or promotional messaging.
Backdrops can be made from materials such as:

• Tension fabric displays
• Vinyl Tarpaulin or PPH Synthetic banners
• Modular truss display walls
• Printed Shell Scheme panels

They are commonly used at:

• Conferences, workshop and seminars
• Product launches, Exhibitions and trade shows
• Media Press conferences
• Red carpet events
• Corporate presentations

Their primary purpose is to create a visually appealing background that communicates brand identity and event messaging.

One of the biggest advantages of using event backdrops is strong brand exposure. A well-designed backdrop prominently displays your company’s:

• Logo
• Tagline
• Corporate colors
• Marketing visuals

This ensures that your brand remains visible throughout the event, especially in photos, videos, and media coverage.
For example:

• A step-and-repeat backdrop repeatedly displays brand logos during photography sessions.
• A stage backdrop reinforces branding during presentations or speeches.

This continuous exposure helps audiences associate the event experience with your brand identity.
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Practical and important Tip:
Always place your logo at eye level and ensure high-resolution printing so it remains clear in photos and video recordings.

Professional presentation is essential for corporate events and exhibitions. A well-designed backdrop can transform a plain venue into a visually structured event space.

Without a backdrop, a stage or booth may look incomplete or unorganized. With a backdrop:

• The stage area looks structured
• The environment appears more premium
• The event looks professionally managed

This visual polish is particularly important for:

• Corporate conferences
• Government events
• Product launches
• Media press events

A strong visual environment builds credibility and enhances audience trust in the brand or organizer.
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Practical and important Tip:
Use consistent colours, fonts, and graphic elements that match your company’s branding guidelines.

Events often generate a large number of photographs and videos, especially during:

• Media coverage
• Award ceremonies
• Networking sessions
• Social media sharing

An event backdrop ensures that every photo taken at the event reinforces your brand.
This is why step-and-repeat walls are commonly used in:

• Red carpet events
• Press conferences
• Corporate award nights

When guests take photos in front of a branded backdrop, the images become free marketing content shared across social media platforms.
​
Practical and important Tip:
Create a dedicated photo area with lighting and a branded backdrop to encourage attendees to take photos and share them online.

Large venues can often appear visually cluttered or confusing. Backdrops help define key event zones and guide audience focus.
For example:

• Stage backdrops help focus attention on speakers and presentations.
• Booth backdrops highlight exhibition and display areas.
• Photo backdrops mark designated photography spots.
• Game backdrops create dedicated spaces for interactive activities and visitor giveaways.

By visually framing important sections, backdrops help audiences understand where to look and wh ere activities are happening.
​
Practical and important Tip:
Use large, bold graphics with clear messaging that can be easily seen from a distance. This improves the overall flow and organization of the event space.

Event backdrops are also valuable marketing tools. They can communicate:

• Campaign slogans
• Product launches
• Event themes
• Sponsor logos
• Promotional messages

Instead of relying solely on brochures or screens, backdrops provide large-scale visual communication that attendees immediately notice.
This is particularly effective for:

• Trade show booths
• Product demonstrations
• Brand activation campaigns

Because backdrops are often placed in central locations, they ensure that key marketing messages remain visible throughout the event.
Practical Tip:
Avoid overcrowding the backdrop design. Focus on one primary message or theme for maximum visual impact.

To maximize the impact of your event backdrop, consider these professional planning tips:

1. Use High-Resolution Graphics, Always design artwork at high resolution (at least 150–300 DPI) to avoid pixelation when printed at large sizes.
2. Maintain Brand Consistency and Ensure colours, fonts, and graphics match your corporate identity or event theme.
3. Consider Viewing Distance - Large venues require bigger text and simplified designs so visuals remain readable from afar.
4. Choose the Right Material, Popular options include: Fabric tension displays (smooth, premium look), Vinyl banners (durable and cost-effective)
5. Modular panels (reusable for multiple events) Example >>
6. Plan Lighting Carefully - Good lighting enhances the appearance of the backdrop and ensures it looks great in photos and videos.

Event backdrops are far more than decorative elements—they are essential tools for branding, communication, and visual impact.
A well-designed backdrop helps:

• Strengthen brand visibility
• Create a professional event atmosphere
• Enhance photography and media exposure
• Define event spaces
• Deliver powerful marketing messages

For event planners and organizers, investing in the right backdrop design can significantly improve the overall presentation and effectiveness of an event.
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Whether it is a corporate conference, exhibition booth, roadshow, or product launch, a professionally designed event backdrop ensures that your event looks organized, memorable, and brand-focused.

Author: Kyzson

If you're doing professional / client work, prioritize:

• Google Fonts → safest, scalable, web-ready
• Font Squirrel → commercial license clarity
• Behance / Fontfabric → premium branding feel

If you're doing creative / viral design:

• 🎨 DaFont / FontSpace → more, funky, expressive & trendy

3D hologram fans are innovative digital display devices that create the illusion of floating 3D visuals in mid-air. Unlike traditional screens, these devices project content without a visible background, producing a futuristic “hologram-like” effect that captures attention instantly.
​
They are widely used in retail stores, exhibitions, events, shopping malls, and showrooms to showcase products, branding, and promotional content.
Key Highlights

• Creates floating, eye-catching visuals
• No screen or glass required (transparent background)
• Supports video, animation, and 3D content
• Compact, lightweight, and easy to install
• Highly effective for advertising and branding

Hologram fans are gaining popularity because they deliver higher engagement and memorability compared to traditional displays

3D hologram fans use a principle called Persistence of Vision (POV). Working Mechanism:

1. The device contains fast-spinning blades (rotor arms) with embedded LED lights.
2. These blades spin so quickly that they become invisible to the human eye.
3. LEDs turn on and off rapidly in precise patterns.
4. The brain blends these light patterns into a continuous 3D image floating in space.

Essentially, the fan creates a visual illusion of depth and motion, making objects appear real and suspended in air

Multiple hologram fans synchronized together to form one large seamless display.
Key Characteristics

• 2, 4, 6, 12+ fans combined
• Controlled by software to act as one big screen
• Can form:
  • Large rectangular wall
  • Creative shapes (grid, vertical tower, etc.)

Performance

• Much larger display size (1m → 4m+ visual impact)
• Higher perceived resolution (combined pixels)
• Supports complex animations, storytelling, and full ads

Best Use Cases

• Shopping mall atriums
• Trade shows & exhibitions
• Brand launches
• Large storefront windows

Simple Explanation
​Think of it like medium huge floating 3D billboard

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Most people find that the best thing about vinyl wall stickers is the fact they can be easily attached to almost any wall. Not only are they easy to attach, you can take them down just as easily. The most effective way to display your company message and design.

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​You know how you know Google is Google at an event as large as DSE? Well, they had one of the biggest booths there, but their branding was consistent throughout their entire booth area. All-white kiosks and walls displayed content that was bright and engaging, and scattered across the floor were colorful chairs that matched the iconic logo. When exhibiting, make sure your brand’s theme is consistent across all your design materials, from banners and images to freebies and more.

​ If you want to be remembered, put your name on your product, your booth, your freebies and anything else people can see or hold. See Samsung and Planar? Of course you do—their names are plastered all over their exhibits. They don’t take their instantly recognizable brand names for granted. They make sure you know who and what you’re looking at. Don’t make people search for your company name as they walk by your booth—they certainly won’t ask.

The freelancing industry enjoyed impressive growth in the past several years.

In 2011, the Financial Times (UK) reported a 12% growth in the number of freelancers from 2008. Popular freelance broker site Elance enjoyed consistent growth in past years, with the number of jobs posted rising from around 200,000 in the first quarter of 2012 to 300,000 in the same period in 2013.

In addition to a more flexible work schedule, freelancers tend to be happy. According to the 2012 Freelance Industry Report, 90% of freelancers are happier now than they were before going solo, and nearly half felt no impact from the economic downturn. Perhaps most tellingly, 77% of freelancers were optimistic about their business prospects over the following 12 months.

With freelance work being such an enticing prospect, no one would blame you for giving it some serious thought. However, a common issue is simply not knowing how to start. Fortunately, building a successful freelancing career is easier than it seems — just follow the steps below.

1. Choose Your Craft
Just about everything can be outsourced these days. That's why there's a strong likelihood that the skills on your résumé contain one or more freelancing opportunities.

You may be required to think outside of the box — we're not all graphic designers or programmers. However, you may find that your "secondary" skills can offer up freelancing opportunities. For instance, if you are a strong writer, then you have the potential to develop a freelance writing business.

Don't be paralyzed by a preconception that you do not have the necessary skills or experience — you would be surprised how little experience you need in order to get started. A little faith in your abilities will take you a long way.

2. Create a Brand
If you plan to succeed in the world of freelancing, you will need to create a strong brand that sets you apart from the competition. Your brand is your identity (i.e. your website, blog and social media accounts) and it should clearly communicate your unique selling proposition — what you do that makes you special.

With that in mind, you should narrow down your focus to a specific industry. For instance, as a graphic designer you might choose to do branding work for digital startup businesses only. This form of specialization will make you far more attractive to a specific set of prospective clients and give you a greater chance of success. You can try to cater to all and sundry, but you will probably only provoke indifference.

3. Build a Portfolio and Source Testimonials
The world of freelancing lacks the red tape of the corporate world. Many prospective clients are not concerned with qualifications; they simply want to see what you have done in the past and judge whether it is the right fit for them.

Therefore, if you are good at what you do and can demonstrate your skill through a quality portfolio and positive client testimonials, you have every chance of success. The conundrum, however, is in building a portfolio without experience.

Many freelancers will react to this by picking up the smallest and least lucrative jobs around, but that puts them into a vicious cycle of bargain-basement work. To work for high-paying clients, you need to demonstrate that you are worth big money by doing good work.

So don't be afraid to do pro bono work for the right clients when you are first starting out. The free work you do at this stage can ultimately be priceless when it clearly communicates your worth to future potential clients via an extensive portfolio and glowing testimonials. Also, offering your services at no cost is a gentle introduction into the world of freelancing where you do not feel the pressure of having to deliver a service of requisite value.

4. Start Pitching
You should only seek paying clients when you are able to demonstrate your abilities (and your reputation) with a quality portfolio and testimonials. Once you have done so by working on pro bono jobs, it's time to start pitching.

But whom should you pitch? Well, if you branded yourself correctly then you should know exactly whom to pitch. By having such a narrow focus, potential clients are far more likely to take you seriously than if you offered a generic service. Businesses want to work with freelancers who seemingly came into existence to serve them specifically — you can create this illusion through specialization.

Potential clients can be found everywhere: from Google to social media to your doorstep. The possibilities are endless.

The two keys to successful pitching are relevance and volume. Only pitch those clients who fit the mold of your brand and pitch a lot of them. Ruth Zive of Marketing Wise, a content marketing firm based in Canada, had a "ten before ten" rule when she first started out as a freelance writer — she would make sure to pitch ten prospective clients before 10 a.m. every working day. Those numbers add up quickly.

5. Play the OddsUltimately, securing freelance work is a numbers game — the more prospective clients you contact, the more likely you are to find work. That is the equation you should keep in mind. If you have a reasonable skill set and create a quality brand, there is no reason why you cannot succeed in the world of freelancing like so many others have before you.

By Tom Ewer

Are you worried that your ad — the one you have been working so hard on and is about to go up onto the Internet where everyone can see it — might just be… horrible?

There’s still hope. Through the years — and careful analysis of lots of truly bad advertising — Gary Stein Labs has created a simple five-point checklist that will help you determine for yourself whether or not this ad is worth anything at all.

1. Is Your Headline a Tagline?
Taglines are great. When done correctly, a tagline neatly sums up the idea behind a product and what value it brings into the world. It should be short and memorably phrased. It should be inspiring and make it seem like the product is worthwhile. And, it should come somewhere near the bottom or the end of the ad.

Too many companies (or their agencies) fall too deeply in love with the tagline and want to put it up in a prominent spot. But that’s too early in the discussion. You can’t start by talking about you. You need to start by talking about them. If your headline — the big text at the top of the ad — says “Brand X: Changing Underwear Washing Forever,” you missed the consumer. You need to have a headline that is about the consumer and her needs. Let the press write headlines about you, after you’ve achieved success. For now, write about the consumer.

2. Does Your Call to Action Feel Absolutely Unignorable?
Assuming that you are not doing a pure branding effort, where simply watching an ad is the reward in and of itself, you need to tell people to do something. Or, rather, you need to invite them to do something, whether it is to buy something or visit your site or forward something on to a friend. You can’t just have an ad that says something but doesn’t compel another action.

But, that call to action has to seem like something you can’t ignore. If someone could reasonably respond to your call to action with “no thanks,” you blew it. If your call to action is a question like, “Would you like to see some more information?” You missed the opportunity. The call to action has to be phrased as an imperative. “Act Now” is the classic, but there are plenty of others that are less harsh. Make sure you are really calling on the consumer to do something meaningful.

3. Does Your Graphic Element Have Anything to Do With Your Product?
There are a lot of images out there that you can choose to put in your ad. A quick Google Images search can yield anything that can be plopped in. But, if you have decided to put one of those images into your ad, it has to communicate. It has to help convey a message and (hopefully) compel an action. It has to give the ad some life or humanity or help put the product in context or give some new information — maybe about what the product looks like or how it is used.

If you have an image in your ad, and it is not immediately, totally clear why it is there, take it out. You have a very short window of opportunity to connect with your consumer and give them a new idea. An image is a great shortcut to getting your idea across. But if that image doesn’t communicate in the way you need it to, you’re just wasting your time.

4. Is Your Ad Relevant and Differentiated?
Advertising is the art of creating something that’s relevant and differentiated. That’s it. You need to have a message that’s relevant — it’s clear how the product you are advertising fits into the consumer’s life and solves a real need. But you also need to be unique — your ad needs to stand separately from any other ad that exists out there that is advertising a product that is also relevant to the consumer.

It’s so tempting to simply say what the product does or what the benefit is. But unless you are the absolutely only brand that can make that claim, you’re going to have to make sure that your claim is presented in a unique way.

Want to know the secret to creating great ads? Tell a compelling story that reveals a product attribute. Every brilliant ad follows this format. If you do this, you have a great shot at success.

5. Is Your Ad About One, Simple, Compelling Thing?
Let’s face facts: There is too much stuff out there. It’s not that people don’t want all this stuff. They are signing up for cable and subscribing to magazines and getting RSS feeds and everything. The problem comes, especially for ads, when they try to communicate too many things.

You have to cut. The key to design is not so much knowing what to put in as it is knowing what to leave out. That has to be your mandate. Apple’s success has much to do with the fact that every new thing it creates gives you more abilities with fewer buttons. Consider the trackpad on the MacBook.

Ten years ago it was tiny, did nothing more than move the pointer around, and required a button. Today, it is huge, allows you dozens of functions, and has no button. Do that with your ad: cut, cut and cut. Ask yourself what single thing can a person do that would be valuable to you and point everything toward that.

Sound good? The thing about these pointers is that it’s not really about digital, per se. That’s because we have long left the era when digital was a thing in and of itself. Now it’s a core part of most people’s media lives and we need to respect that. And that means holding digital ads up to the same scrutiny that we do with all other ads in all other formats.

by Gary Stein for ClickZ 

When was the last time you actually wrote using pen and paper? 
It’s not surprising to know that you seldom use them, as we’re entering the digital age when technologies like laptop and tablet blossom all over the world. However, the crucial fact here is that using pen and paper are definitely more efficient than using computer when it comes to sketching, writing, designing, any activity that involves brainstorming!

(Image Source: Mike Rohde)

It’s safe to say that with pen and paper, your creativity will truly be unleashed in a very fast manner, making your work more efficient than ever. What’s really greater is that they save tons of your energy and time, with the chance to decrease your head-scratching moment!

1. It Combats Designer’s Block
The first and foremost reason that you should sketch on paper before designing on computer is your idea will flow more naturally. This fact is even applicable to the Wacom pen tablet’s holder. It’s apparently not a preference issue but a predefined habit of the human, after all sketching on the paper is certainly more user-friendly than typing on the computer, as you can draw or write anything on the paper so freely and naturally.

(Image Source: Mike Rohde)

This is my first-hand experience. When I’m trying to come up with a short story I find it easier to generate the ideas on a legal pad than type the ideas out in computer. Even though I know that I’ll still be typing them on my laptop, I still wrote them via hand. Why? Because I noticed that ideas flow naturally with every letter I wrote.

So, are you having the writer’s block while you’re sitting in front of Microsoft Word, or Adobe Photoshop? Take some time off and bring out some papers and your pencil, then start sketching anything comes into your mind. If you’re trying to come up with a logo, you can start with a circle, and after several minutes you’ll notice that you’ve made several variations.

2. It Greatly Saves Your Time & Energy
This point is especially true for web designer. In web design we often have so many things to be planned, says home page, product page, contact page and even details like how the link button should look like. Sketch the ideas on Photoshop and modify them when changes are needed will prove to be exhausting and time-consuming.

(Image Source: Mike Rohde)

The question is: why waste your energy and time on the computer while some papers and a pen can do the same job? You can sketch on the paper any way you want, and tear the idea down any time you wantwithout pressing buttons here and there, talking about productivity!

What’s greater is that as you sketch faster, more ideas will pop up in such a short time and you can evenalter them to spawn more ideas, talking about creativity!

3. It Gives A Clear Perspective
There are many professional web designers and graphic artists who always bring their sketchpad to meetings with their clients. Because sketching is actually faster than using computer when brainstorming with the clients.

(Image Source: Mike Rohde)

Besides, in the design industry it is very important that the designer understands what the client wants to see, and the paper and pen come in really handy for this situation. Always bring a sketchpad and a pen/pencil to meetings, your drawing doesn’t necessarily need to be perfect, just the rough representation of what the client might see as the final product.

In terms of programming, sketching is like drawing a flowchart. In terms of writing a novel, it is like writing an outline of all the events and characters. Actually there’s a term for it in web design, it’s called wireframing. It isonly composed of lines, squares, and shades to represent how the website will look like.

4. It’s Here Whenever You Need It
There are times when a designer simply forgets what he/she has thought of. Having a pen and paper at ready will prove useful to record the great ideas which you might simply forget them in seconds. It also allows you to immediately get into the work like prototyping, even while you are waiting for the bus to arrive.

(Image Source: EddyMixx)

Would it not be perfect to have a sketchpad with you wherever you go so that those random ideas can be recorded? Like when you’re traveling or you’re waiting in a queue and a great idea comes to mind. You wouldn’t want to lose that precious idea just because you weren’t bringing anything that you can use to record your thoughts, right?

A great example of this is the writing of the poem, “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Samuel allegedly dreamt of the whole thing, and upon waking up he went to his notes and wrote down everything before he forgets them (but he was interrupted by someone in the end). What if he was not with his notes at that time? A great poem might not be born at all!

Modern Technology’s Take On This:

Sketching and writing with paper and pen is fun, but it can also be a pain especially when you hope to carry your ideas with you always, and you only want to bring a computer but not several legal pads to everywhere. Besides, in most cases, you certainly don’t want to re-draw or re-type the ideas into the computer.

The good news is that the technology is so advanced that certain digital products can help you tackle the issue of integration and sharing while you are still able to enjoy sketching on the paper.

Livescribe is a digital pen that is able to write on real paper like ordinary pen, with a twist! You can stick in Livescribe to your computer and everything you’ve written is converted into “searchable” images on your computer. Livescribe can also be used to record audio, and with additional apps it can do simple mathematical computations, and many others functions!

Certainty that you are acquainted with Wacom and its pen tablets for digital painting and sketching, but did you know that they have a product that actually uses an ink and paper? Inkling is Wacom’s product thatrecords every stroke and shade on a paper, and later on enables the user to transfer the whole art to Photoshop for additional improvements. Inkling can be used on any paper or any surface as long as it’s flat.

ConclusionAs the current technology advances intensively, I believe it is our duty to keep up with it while not leaving the traditional things behind, especially those from which creativity came from.

Marrying technology with tradition results to great things. While designing on the computer has its great advantages, it’s good for you to leave your mouse and keyboard for several minutes and get really creative by start sketching/writing on your paper!

Author: Rean

As freelance designers...
self-discipline is one essential characteristic to cultivate. Granted that you have the benefits of a flexible timetable, it is highly critical for you to be firm in your daily dealings to keep your business going well. Maintaining high motivation for your work is hence a topmost priority.

But hey, who doesn’t have the downtime? Sometimes it’s easy to lose heart when you’re not getting by with freelancing, or when it didn’t meet your expectation of flexibility. That is why it is crucial for you to know what serves as motivation for freelancers like yourself.

As a part-time freelance blogger myself, I could relate to a few common issues regarding the lack of motivation. Fortunately, I have found for myself a few solutions that I could apply when I feel I’m running low on battery, and I’m willing to share to you my remedies in this post, full sharing after jump!


1. Remember Why You Took Up Freelancing
When you remind yourself what was it that drew you into the circle of freelancers, you would be grateful that you got into where you are now even if things are going really tight. Typically, freelancers got here because they want more control over their schedule and more freedom over their choice of projects or tasks.

That said, it’s easy to fall into the trap of not following up with the client on time. It could be something to do with time management or simply just a lack of motivation. If it is the latter, then you have to acknowledge the fact that how much you earn is entirely determined by the amount of time and hard work you’re willing to put in. High productivity is what makes a freelancer success.

Not only does that affect your income, it also affects your reputation among the other freelancers. A good reputation of completing projects promptly with quality will translate into more offers from clients. What this means is that you’ll have more leeway in choosing those who you’d really like to work on!

As a freelancer, you will definitely have to start off from the bottom, which means that you may not get many project offers and thus unable to make a decent living at the initial stage. Well, one way to keep yourself motivated is to remind yourself that eventually, your hard work will pay off in terms of getting more and better offers. As the saying goes, "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going."

2. Fanning The Flame
It’s easy to lose your creative sense when you’re kept busy by deadlines. When you place your emphasis on completing the project within a short timeframe, you become more concerned about getting the job donerather than doing it creatively or aesthetically. This leaves little room for indulging in your passion for freelancing.
You need to feed your passion or it will die off gradually! Losing your motivation? This could be the reason. Spend some time looking up for designs pertaining to your area of interest. Visit art museums or galleries. Draw something for fun. As long as you’re doing your art not for work’s sake, but for fun’s sake, you will keep the fire in you burning. It’s easy to extinguish it when you work day-in and day-out on your projects because you’ll associate the stresses with it.

As you can see, work can create a love-hate relationship between you and your passion. You are passionate about your work, but at the same time, you loath how your livelihood is now dependent on your passion. It’s no longer fun when there’s a huge responsibility laid on what had always been your hobby or favorite pastime.

The bottom line is, don’t turn your passion into work alone. You will still need to allocate some time to feed your interest outside of work. Some people can enjoy their work no matter how taxing it may be, but for most, they still have to make some time outside work to be inspired. Work is work; the demands are there to take the fun out of the equation.

3. Using Flexibility To Your Advantage
The wonderful thing about being a freelancer is that it allows you to make your own call. You can go for meals, take breaks or even leave your workstation anytime you want. Not many other jobs offer that kind of freedom. On the down side, you might be tempted to procrastinate when no one but you yourself is monitoring your work.

To curb those temptations and stay motivated, what you can do is you can give yourself appropriate time to rest. Just as dieticians would advise people to take many small, light meals rather than the standard three full meals to curb their cravings for unhealthy snacks, you should give yourself many small breaks while you’re working on the project. That way, you won’t get too overwhelmed with handling all the work in one long stretch and end up taking the rest of the day off from your work.

Besides the advantage of keeping you motivated this way, taking frequent breaks would also start you off refreshed each time you return to your work. In fact, psychologists have found that you can absorb and remember the things you were working on the most when you just begun to work on it. They call it the primacy effect.

So, if you are taking several breaks, you will perform better each time you get back to work after your breaks. This translates to better work performance and mood for the entire project you are handling, which then serves as good motivation to keep up your good work.

by Michael Poh

Author: Kyzson

The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike.

The Origins of QR Codes While QR codes are still considered a novelty here in the United States, they’ve been actively used for over a decade in Japan where they were invented.  QR is a registered trademark of Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota.  Denso Wave has elected not to exercise their patent rights of QR codes and that has encouraged their widespread use.

There are other software companies that have created 2D codes that work much like QR codes, with Microsoft being the most notable.  Microsoft developed their own proprietary software to create codes known as MS tags.  Unlike QR codes, which can be read by a number of different readers, MS tags can only be read by the Microsoft Tag Reader.

Choosing to use QR codes or MS tags is a personal choice.  It seems that MS tags presently allow for more possibilities for creative graphic designs, such as incorporating images and logos into the tag. 

How QR Codes WorkQR code Generators – There are a number of sites for generating QR codes and they’re all free.  An Internet search for QR code generator will offer many choices.

One that has worked well for me is Kaywa, a site created by Datamatrix, which is another pioneer of 2D codes.  You can use it to create QR codes that link to a web page, text, phone numbers, or SMS.  Another with even greater capabilities, including customizing the color and format of your codes is Kerem Erkan.

QR code Readers – The QR code reader app that works well on my iPhone is i-nigma, which claims to be the most widely used reader in the world.  It accommodates virtually any type of camera phone. For the android, you can also try Barcode Scanner. If you already own the popular price-checking app Red Laser, they’ve recently adapted their technology to accommodate QR code reading.

Applications for QR Codes
Sharing – There’s no limit to how, or even how much, you can share with QR codes.  While a video or landing page is easily shared, you could go further and share an entire eBook and even multiple pieces of content that share a common link.

QR code Like button to the author’s Facebook page.

Community – Sharing is how you build community, and one of the favorite arenas for doing this is Facebook.  You can use Likify to create a QR code that links your mobile device to a fully functioning LIKE button for your Facebook page.

Calls to Action – After building a community, the next logical step is to mobilize them to take action.   What are you trying to accomplish?  You can alternate special offers by simply linking your QR codes to new landing pages, and you can combine then with email opt-ins to build your list.

The QR code above takes visitors to a Facebook page welcome tab where the calls to action are Liking the page and a list opt-in.

SEO and SMO – Earlier this month I wrote an article on social graphs where I discuss how web objects such as images, music clips, and videos add valuable content to your social graph.  QR codes enhance both your search engine and social media optimization.  Now you can increase traffic to those searchable objects to further optimize them by encouraging more sharing.

Social Proof – To help build a community offline, it can be helpful to use your vibrant online communities as social proof of your influence and expertise.  As one example, you can use QR codes to link to specific blog posts that have earned an abundance of activity.

Analytics - QR codes most commonly link to urls, which is why link shortening services bit.ly and goo.gl now automatically generate a QR code for sharing your shortened links.

This screenshot shows how bit.ly serves up analytics and a QR code for a shortened link. Scan it to go to a list of recommended QR code readers.

Practical Uses of QR Codes
Here are some ways for using QR codes that are mostly in practice now, as well as we will be seeing in the very near future.

Where
QR Codes could be used:

• The back (or front and back) of your business card.
• Your brochures and other marketing materials.
• The sides of trucks and trailers.
• Product tags and packaging
• Convention and event nametags
• Restaurant menus
• Event ticket stubs
• Point-of-sale receipts

What
QR Codes could link to:

• Installation instructions
• Sources for replacement parts and service
• Directions to your business
• The process for hiring your professional services
• Valuable coupons and special offers
• Recommendations for complementary products and services
• Free mp3 downloads
• Customer feedback forms

How
You can you maximize your effectiveness with QR codes:

• Provide explanations about their use and benefits
• Encourage actions that support your marketing plan
• Assuage the fears of the technically challenged
• Give reasons to come back
• Experiment with the size, location, and color of your QR codes
• Study your analytics
• Make the process fun, such as a QR code scavenger hunt
• Experiment​