I remember back at university when my class-group had to design a full magazine for an assignment. After it was completed, we scored really low on our preliminary report because of one thing: we had left out the bar code. “How will your magazine sell?” asked our lecturer. “Barcodes are the basis of any product design and if you leave them out, retailers will not accept the products.” Little did we know then, but there was an awful lot of truth to that statement.

Barcodes are funny little things. To a large extent, most people don’t even notice them these days, however, there are a number of new developments in the barcoding industry which are helping to keep them relevant in the modern era. Here are a few recent developments to tickle your fancy, but believe me, there is a world of information out there.

Advertisements

Ad executives are increasingly looking to barcodes to create a more unique, tailored and interactive customer experience. Through the use of QR codes on their smartphones, customers are able to access special offers, product websites, and much more by simply scanning the barcode with their cameras. This novel mechanism has spawned countless new ideas for interactive advertising and is seeing increasing uptake within the major brands in South Africa. It is difficult to turn a magazine page these days without seeing a barcode link somewhere in an advert. While this industry is still new, the possibilities are endless and we look forward to seeing where it goes.

Fun and Games

Console and pc games have made use of barcodes for many years. From scanning codes to open doors within gameplay, through to actual “real-life” scanners provided as add-ons to console units, the barcode is nicely at home within the gaming world.

In recent years, game developers have begun to make use of specially formulated codes which allow players to battle one another in an interactive gaming environment, where scanning real life barcodes allows you capture virtual characters and battle them with your fellow players. An example of a game currently using this technology is “Barcode Beasties”.

Health

For all the health and fitness fundi’s out there, you will be pleased to know that barcodes have also been adopted by a number of exciting new health and wellness smartphone apps. These apps allow you to scan the bar codes of the products that you are consuming, and are then able to link them back to the ingredients lists of the products.

In so doing, the apps are able to keep track of you calorie intake and make suggestions on what to cut out of your diet. This is great new addition to the health app world and you can bet your bottom dollar that this is only going to grow in the years to come.

Art and pop culture

Barcodes have become so popular that they have been used as inspiration for art and architecture. This building in St. Petersburg, Russia has been designed with the linear (traditional) barcode in mind:

Pretty interesting, right?

Accepted by 99.9% of retailers in the world, SA Barcodes creates high-quality barcodes for any product. If you want to find out more information on Barcodes South Africa, please feel free to visit their sponsors’ page at www.sabarcodes.co.za.

More information on all things barcode related can also be found at this blog – barcodes online for life.

[source:inflow]