While at the AMC movie theater in Aventura, FL, I encountered a cardboard installation promoting the upcoming film "Priest". Once spotting the the QR code in the corner, naturally I whipped my phone out to tag and see what it's about. It brought me to the films mobile site that had a link where one of the star actors Maggie Q introduces a short animation that acts as the prologue of the film.

As I've pointed out in a previous blog, QR Codes are versatile, chock full o'data codes that act as portals to mobile web sites. However, there's not one universal QR reader appllication simply because there's not just one type of QR code. So I thought it was important to revist this topic to talk more about the types of 2D codes/tags you'll encounter. From most popular to less known, these codes are...(feel free to insert Family Feud Bell)

QR Codes

This is your standard issue code. Highly recognized, known for its 3 anchor points; making it very easy for phones to pick up.

Datamatrix Codes

If there were a code race, these codes are biting the ankles of QR codes. Except having three anchor points, its has a perpendicular lines running up the left and bottom side of the code.

Microsoft Tag Codes

Developed from Microsoft, these tag codes may have a climbing popularity due its world-dominating developer. This was the kind of code I encountered with the 'Priest' installation above.

Everyone else... and beyond

You're going to see that QR/tag codes can be as customized as business cards. Developers can create these codes/scanners however they want. Shapes, colors, arrangements and even pictures can be integrated into the code. I created this tag using the BeeTagg Generator. Expect to see many more classes and hybrids of codes to surface. There are already enough out there making it hard to keep up!

Blogged by Nick Sears - Motion Designer - rVue