I love the idea of getting a QR Code tattoo myself, to use instead of a business card. Please see my tweet about it, and let me know if you think it's actually a fun idea or a ridiculous one.

I'm aware of very few genuine QR Code tattoos, and there aren't many photos around. But what a way to show how ahead of the curve you are.

Liam O'Toole has a QR Code tattoo on his arm, which has 'thevoice66' encoded.

Chris Arkwright also has a small QR Code tattoo on his arm. Unfortunately it doesn't scan as it's a little stylised, but should say 'NO REGRETS', which is very apt.

A quick question about QR Code size came up today on Twitter, and it's certainly worth discussing. The size of a QR Code depends largely on the medium in which it is being communicated.

Sized correctly for the chosen medium

On a poster, it should be sized correctly so that it can be easily scanned from the position from which it will be viewed. On TV, it should be large enough to be scanned from the sofa. On a business card, the QR Code just needs to be of appropriate size so that a mobile phone's camera can focus on the detail.

It's important to remember that QR Codes become more complicated when holding more information, so a short web address creates a more simple QR Code. This simpler shape allows a QR Code of the same size to be scanned from further away.

As with any advertising campaign, it's important to monitor and record the statistics and results of QR Code use, when they're being used to promote a website or product. While savvy mobile users might be fully aware of QR Codes, many consumers aren't, so it is particularly important to see how successful a QR Code campaign is.

Small campaigns & experiments

With the steady increase in popularly of QR Codes, several URL shortening services have added QR Codes to their systems. Bit.ly is a good example, where appending .qrcode to the end of any shortened URL will provide it's QR Code.

By sharing this code, visits via the QR Code are tracked as such, and shown alongside referrals from websites, applications and direct traffic. This is ideal for a small campaign or experiment, however it should be noted that these statistics are publicly accessible, so wouldn't be appropriate for a corporate campaign.

URL shorteners also have the advantage of creating a less complicated QR Code, taking up less space, or able to be scanned from further away.

Corporate campaigns

As with a unique web address used in print advertising to track visits, the same can be done with QR Codes. By sending the visitor to an intermediary page, any website analytics service, such as Google Analytics, can be used to track the effectiveness of a QR Code campaign.

We get it. QR Codes can look a bit clinical. But given the error correction built-in to QR Codes, you can get away with editing them a surprising amount.

Clearly, I'm not a graphic designer...but it's a good example of what can be done easily. I'd love to see what a designer can do.

Waitrose are using a QR Code at the end of the Christ mas TV ad to promote their app, available for iPhone and Android handsets. QR Codes also feature prominently in their print adverts, including explanations of how to scan the codes.

It's great to see such a large UK company taking this technology by the horns and really making the most of it. The QR Code in their TV advert appears rather briefly at the end, but it certainly serves the purpose of drawing attention to their brand, particularly sparking a lot of online discussion.

With QR Codes becoming more mainstream here in the UK, we thought it was about time we started up a blog to keep track of all the latest developments.

With the John Lewis Partnership, including John Lewis themselves and Waitrose using QR Codes in their Christmas TV adverts (a dedicated post on this coming soon), consumers and businesses alike are becoming more aware of QR Codes, and how they can be used to add value to print marketing, television advertising and more.

While based in the UK, we do aim to offer an overview of QR Code use worldwide. We welcome related stories from around the world, and guest posts will be made available.

We, by the way, are @QRCodes on Twitter - mainly administered by Nick Johnston, with other professional input. More to come.