QR Code Renaissance

QR codes continue their extended renaissance in museums (and in museum conference slides).

BTW, QR codes are older than we think. They were invented a generation ago to track parts on Japanese assembly lines. (QR stands for “quick response.”) They got big in Asia.

US marketers tried to popularize them 10 years back. A solution in search of a problem, they flopped. Bad judgment abounded. (Tip: do not put a QR code on the front of a moving bus.)

Then two things happened. All smartphones got QR readers in their cameras in 2017. And then 2020 made all humans hate touching restaurant menus.

Today, the QR renaissance continues. (Bad judgment also continues: please don’t get a QR code tattoo.)

The good news: visitors might use them.

If we have something our visitors will truly want to do — repeat, truly want to do — with their personal devices in our exhibitions, they can be a solution some visitors might use.

The bad news: visitors might use them.

When those personal devices come out, we’ll have to win the attention of those visitors back again. We should just be mindful of how often we have to do that.

Here’s the thing:
The QR code renaissance continues. Use them thoughtfully and sparingly, where appropriate. Maybe not in tattoos.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Blocking. The practice of putting additional hidden structure (often sheets of plywood) inside or behind gallery walls. Hidden blocking allows heavier artworks to be supported when hung on a wall, and for works needing more security to be more firmly attached.