The design panel sets colours, the shape of the pattern and, on paid plans, a logo in the middle and a frame around the outside. A QR code can carry your branding — within limits that are about physics rather than taste.
What you can change
- ColourA single colour, or a gradient across the pattern
- Gradient directionHorizontal, vertical, diagonal or radial
- BackgroundThe colour behind the pattern
- TemplatesReady-made combinations, as a starting point
- LogoYour mark in the centre — paid plans
- FramesA border with a call to action — paid plans
The rules you cannot design around
A scanner finds a code by looking for strong contrast between the pattern and its background. Most codes that fail in the wild fail for one of these reasons:
- Not enough contrast Dark pattern on a light background. Light-on-dark works in some readers and not others, and a mid-grey on mid-beige works in none of them.
- The logo is too big A code can lose a modest area in the centre and still be read. Take too much and there is nothing left to recover from.
- No quiet zone The clear margin around the code is part of the code. Text or artwork crowding the edge stops it being found at all.
- Inverted colours A light pattern on a dark background is the most common cause of a code that scans on one phone and not another.
Test after every design changeColour and logo changes can take a code from reliable to marginal without looking any different to you. Scan it again after each change, and from a normal distance rather than an inch away.
A frame with three words on it — Scan for menu — reliably lifts scan rates, because it answers the question a stranger has when they see a square of noise.
Related: printing so it scans.