Hong Kong’s Tourism Board Says Goodbye to Boring QR Codes

• 27, Aug, 2017
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QR codes can be an easy way for people to learn more about products being advertised and interact with out-of-home advertisements in a fun and playful way. In my experience, I see QR codes placed awkwardly off into a corner of a poster and therefore aren’t thoughtfully integrated or are so small that they are difficult to  scan if you aren’t able to take a close-up shot. The result is uninspired uses of a potentially engaging piece of interactive technology. However, after seeing the QR codes that were created for the Hong Kong Board of Tourism, the bar has definitely been set for creating QR codes that are not only visually stimulating but actually grab people’s attention enough to actually scan the code.

These QR codes were specifically created to attract visitors to spend more time exploring the many sites and offerings of Hong Kong’s Old Town Central. Specific posters correlate with each of the four distinct walking tours that are offered which are Tasting Hong Kong, Crazy for Art, Treasure Hunt and Time Traveler (for heritage spots). Once a poster is scanned, visitors are directed to a website that has all the information on the walking tour offered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Usually QR codes are presented as plain black-and-white collage of squares, but not for these codes! Several of the QR codes don’t even resemble codes at all but rather cute and colorful pixel or graphic artwork that would be more a home in a museum rather than on the streets of Hong-Kong.