Add your logo and show off your brand
You know what’s even better than a QR code? A QR code that has your beautiful logo right smack in the middle!
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Imagine it; a little square, just asking people to take out their phone and scan it. And, what’s this? It’s your brand’s logo telling them exactly who this superb little square belongs to.
The good news is; you don’t have to imagine it! You can make a QR code with your logo in it right now!
Why put your logo in your QR code?
The simple answer is for brand recognition.
The more people see your logo, the more they will recognize and think about your brand. Your QR codes are another place for your logo to be visible to potential customers.
Putting your logo in your QR codes also gives your brand a sense of ownership over them. These are your codes, marked with your “signature” and you own them and endorse whatever they do.
And, of course, having your logo in them will tell people exactly who the code belongs to.
Other brands’ logos
Sometimes there is a case for putting other brands’ logos in your QR codes, particularly if that other brand is a service you use.
For example, if your code leads to your YouTube channel, you might consider putting a YouTube logo into the code instead of your own.
Or, if the code opens PayPal so the visitor can make a payment to you, you might consider putting PayPal’s logo into it.
This is because these logos are easily recognizable, and they tell the visitor exactly what to expect when they scan the code. If they see a YouTube logo in the code, they are going to expect YouTube to open.
How am I able to put a logo into a QR code?
Excellent question!
We don’t want to get too technical here, but you can put a logo or some other image into a QR code because of something called “error correction.”
A certain amount of a QR code can be damaged or obscured and the code will still be scannable. That is why you can put an image over a small part of the code and it will still work.
The error correction is possible because QR codes utilize Reed-Solomon error correction, which is a type of error correction tool that is common in digital communication. It basically makes a copy of the code to fill in any missing or obscured pieces.
(We’ll talk more about error correction later.)
Please visit this page for an in-depth guide on how QR codes work.
Okay, so how do I actually put one into my code?
Well, firstly, you need the services of a QR code generator and you just so happen to be on the website of one.
Secondly, you need to register for a free trial or sign into your existing account.
Thirdly, you need to create a QR code and you can find the basic steps below:
- Click “Create project.”
- Give your project a name and click “Save project.”
- Click “Create QR.”
- Choose what type of QR code you want to create.
- Fill in all the necessary information for your QR code, which varies for different codes.
- Save it.
After this process, you will have a basic, black and white QR code with no logo.
The whole process of creating a QR code only takes minutes. Click here for a more in-depth guide to creating QR codes.
To add a logo, you will have to create a template to use with it. This template will be a sort of “mask” that you can put on your QR code to make it look pretty. (Or edgy, or whatever your brand identity is.)
Once you are done creating your QR code, you can click “Design” and then “QR Code Design” from the drop down menu.
Click “+” to create a QR code template, give it a name and make it visible for either this one project or for all projects in your account. (If you make it visible for all projects in your account, that means you’ll be able to use that template for QR codes in other projects.)
Next, you will have to choose the error correction level. (Told ya we’d talk more about this.) Your choices are:
- 7%
- 15%
- 25%
- 30%
The level of error correction you choose will affect how your code looks, but also how large of an image you can use. The higher the error correction level, the larger the image you can use.
Upload your logo in SVG, PNG, JPG or GIF format and the generator will place it in your code and let you know if the code is still scannable.
Save your changes to your template and use it on as many or as few of your codes as you like.
What type of logo should I use?
As far as format, you should be able to use any of the four listed.
And for the design, we recommend using a square icon rather than a printed out word. Using a square icon will make the logo easier to see and recognize if you print your code small.
For example, if you were going to put a PayPal logo on your code, we recommend using the iconic “double P” logo rather than the written out PayPal logo. Similarly with YouTube, it would be better to use the “red play button” logo rather than the written out YouTube logo.
If you don’t yet have a square icon logo, now would be a good time to design one for your brand. Put it on a QR code and see how it looks!
What else can I do to make my QR code unique?
Paint it up.
Use your brand’s colors to give your QR code a pop. If you know the exact color codes for your brand’s colors, you can easily find them in the uQR.me color picker and apply them to the foreground, background and the big squares of your code.
Grade it.
No, we’re not talking about giving your code a grade like A+ (although we’re sure you’ll make a code worthy of that grade). We mean give the code a gradient so one color blends into another one. It’s a great way to get multiple colors into your code and give it a little pizzazz.
Get it into shape.
Alter the shape of the elements in your code to fit your branding. We have 19 different shapes to choose from. Make it more rounded, more square, use spikes or crosses or dots. Make it match your brand’s identity and go wild!
Slap your name on it, too.
So, we’re cheating a little bit with this one. You can edit the shortened URL associated with your QR code to put your brand name into it. The URL doesn’t display in your code, but you can use it in places without the code if you like. For example, you can use the shortened URL in a social media post without the QR code.
Make some landing and redirect pages.
QR codes aren’t the only thing you can make with uQR.me. You can also make landing page templates and redirection pages. Design your landing page templates so they reflect your brand. Put your logo and brand name on your redirect page, which shows up for a few seconds as your content loads. More branding opportunities!
Anything else I should know about these marvelous little codes?
Yes! There are a couple more things you should know about these codes.
Because they’re dynamic, you can edit them at any time. If you have a code that points to a certain YouTube video and you decide to change the video it points to, all you have to do is change the link. Boom. Done.
They are available to you in a variety of formats that are perfect for printing or using online. You can print them big (with your logo in all its glory right there in the center) or small (which is why you should use a square icon logo).
And, lastly, dynamic codes have a whole bunch of useful tracking information you can use to improve your campaigns. You can see:
- What days they’ve been scanned.
- How many total scans they’ve received.
- How many new scans they’ve received.
- Which countries and cities they’ve been scanned in.
- What types of operating systems and browsers have been used to scan them.
- The age and gender of the visitors (providing they have a public Google account).
Oh, and one more thing! You can also connect your code to your Google Analytics account to get even more insights!
Please click here for a guide on the various tracking information available to you with your QR codes.
Putting your logo into your QR code makes it instantly recognizable as yours. Using a well known logo from a service provider like WhatsApp or Google will tell visitors exactly what to expect when they scan the code.
No matter which type of logo you choose, putting one in your QR code gives it another dimension of recognizability and will encourage more scans. The more scans, the better.
