I love the code, but my phone isn't translating it on the badge. not sure if its my monitor or not, so will test at home and let you know (trying with QR Droid on a Droid X)
Well my phone is so borked the QR Scan app I have on it just crashes so I can't test it. Do carry on trying to get it to work. If it remains a problem, I may have to lighten the background some.
couldn't the "name/handle" section be shortened and put the QR code on there on one side or the other?
Do we really need "real name" on there? I would think you could cut out "Name" and just have forum handle and twitter handle stacked on the left, QR code on the right, all in that white bubble
I took me 2 tries to get the QR code to read. My concern is that the blue may not have enough contrast difference with the black. We may be getting different results in part because of our screen differences. But if it doesn't print out just right....
Would it look aweful to have it with a white background. I suppose there's always MS tag too .
I love the code, but my phone isn't translating it on the badge. not sure if its my monitor or not, so will test at home and let you know (trying with QR Droid on a Droid X)
Well my phone is so borked the QR Scan app I have on it just crashes so I can't test it. Do carry on trying to get it to work. If it remains a problem, I may have to lighten the background some.
couldn't the "name/handle" section be shortened and put the QR code on there on one side or the other?
Do we really need "real name" on there? I would think you could cut out "Name" and just have forum handle and twitter handle stacked on the left, QR code on the right, all in that white bubble
My thought would be to make the forum address text smaller, move it closer to the left edge (as we look at the image here) and place the QR code to the right of it. I think that gives it a little more meaning and doesn't cut down the logo as much.
Thanks for the feedback all. I'll try 3 different variations this week. These will be:
1) Lighten the area behind the QR Code to increase contrast
2) Place the QR code to the right of the forum URL
3) Place the QR code within the form box under the badge
As a person who works for a company that makes barcode design software, I'm at least familiar with some of the basic concepts for barcodes.
The most important rule of barcodes is contrast, contrast, contrast. Ideally, the barcode and the background color are complete opposites (that's why black/white are most often used). In fact, most scanners/software actually convert the image they've received into grey scale before "looking" for the barcode in the image so it's best to focus on light vs. dark when placing a barcode.
If that seems a little dense to you, think about a barcode like a 3D map rather than a flat image. Then imagine you're a blind person who can only read the map by touch. The bigger the contrast in color/brightness, the higher the peaks (colored area of a barcode) are off the page and the deeper the valleys (the background) are into the ground. The higher/deeper the peaks/valleys, the easier it is for your hand to distinguish the shape you're feeling. Colors that are too close together will "squash" these peaks/valleys making it much tougher to feel the shape blindly.
Visual Aid:
Also - try to leave some "quiet" space around the barcode. Don't put any text/other grpahics too close to the barcode. It might confuse the reader and try to interpret those extra bits as part of the barcode which will make it fail to read it. You ever notice how those UPC barcodes on the products at a grocery store have extra white space around the actual barcode? It's not to make it look pretty, it's to ensure readability of the barcode. A good rule of thumb is to try to make that space at least roughly 3 times as big as the thickest line/block in your barcode. This will give the virtual image a solid boarder to work within.
</ rant about barcode tech that nobody usually ever cares about but seems semi pertinent now >
So... to tie this all back to the badge design you're working on, you've got a black on dark blue blue barcode design. That's not a lot of contrast. You'd actually be better off flippling the color of the barcode to white if you want to leave it on top of that dark blue background. Otherwise, I think you have enough quiet space around the barcode that I don't think that would be an issue (but more is always better).
Haha, that's actually a pretty funny question to me. For the sake of those who simply don't care, I'll spoilerize the quick story:
I do not work for Zebra. For what I'm about to say, I'd rather leave my company's name anonymous. You can say that we're both a competitor (label design software) and partner with Zebra (we don't make printers, but our software can work beautifully with theirs).
I used to work in the tech support department which covers all of our software products (both label design software and printer drivers). It wasn't uncommon for a customer to tell us that Zebra had told them to call us, even though they weren't using our software and the problem was clearly a printer/hardware failure that would clearly fall under Zebra's tech support coverage. (One case in particular that I will always remember is a customer that was using Zebra's own label design software and printer driver! I'm still baffled to this day how a Zebra tech thought to tell the customer to call us even though our software had never even touched the customer's computer.)
I know they have some good techs because whenever I called in with the customer, they were usually on top of everything. So I don't want to paint them as incompetent, I just know that a few techs were clearly asleep at the wheel on occasion.
Haha, that's actually a pretty funny question to me. For the sake of those who simply don't care, I'll spoilerize the quick story:
I do not work for Zebra. For what I'm about to say, I'd rather leave my company's name anonymous. You can say that we're both a competitor (label design software) and partner with Zebra (we don't make printers, but our software can work beautifully with theirs).
I used to work in the tech support department which covers all of our software products (both label design software and printer drivers). It wasn't uncommon for a customer to tell us that Zebra had told them to call us, even though they weren't using our software and the problem was clearly a printer/hardware failure that would clearly fall under Zebra's tech support coverage. (One case in particular that I will always remember is a customer that was using Zebra's own label design software and printer driver! I'm still baffled to this day how a Zebra tech thought to tell the customer to call us even though our software had never even touched the customer's computer.)
I know they have some good techs because whenever I called in with the customer, they were usually on top of everything. So I don't want to paint them as incompetent, I just know that a few techs were clearly asleep at the wheel on occasion.
Haha, I used to make some software for Zebra printers (and had to make some custom drivers at one point as well!). Thought it was interesting to see another barcode geek around here. :-)
Every time you write parallel fifths, Bach kills a kitten.
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576 PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
1) Lighten the area behind the QR Code to increase contrast
2) Place the QR code to the right of the forum URL
3) Place the QR code within the form box under the badge
As an erstwhile graphic designer, incorporating the QR code within the already white area of the Forum name/twitter/Real Name block is probably the best way to go. The "Forum Handle" field is already much larger than it needs to be. Divide that section of the badge into two columns, with Forum Handle etc on the left, and the QR code on the right.
Something like this (apologies for quick butchery)
I was wondering if our Pre-PAX hookah meetup qualifies or how we would go about getting badges if we were. We have a thread, and facebook group and everything :P see we're "legit"
also i'll use this as a shameless plug for our event. So we're gonna be meeting up thursday night at 8 at the Cobra Lounge to smoke some hookah and play some games (munchkin, magic, etc). You don't have to smoke if you go, and the air isn't all nasty and crap. Everyone is welcome to come and have a great time :P Check the links for more info.
I have heard some of the concerns raised regarding the position and the contrast behind the QR Code. While I can see why you would want to place the QR Code within the text box, my worry over that is it disassociates itself from the URL by being slung into the text box area. Also, as Moe has already pointed out, space is at a premium in that box.
Nevertheless I am warming to the idea of doing away with the lines within the box and the information like real name and twitter account on there. It would be much better to simply have 'forum handle' as it will enable people to write their handle alone and if they want to add anything else, put that in the space too.
With regards to Pre-PAX events that get badges for handing out, I actually limit those to the ones listed previously due primarily with cost concerns as the badges are all posted from the UK. Sorry about that!
Haha, I used to make some software for Zebra printers (and had to make some custom drivers at one point as well!). Thought it was interesting to see another barcode geek around here. :-)
It's nice to find a kindred barcode spirit! I never had to make actual software for the printers, being in tech support I mostly just solved people's problems, but I also had a couple contract jobs to design custom labels within our software. I used to be able to read ZPL fairly well (at least well enough to see if somebody's code was trying to tell the printer to be thermal transfer instead of direct thermal). The print code I really dove into for some strange reason was MPCL (Monarch). I was probably the only one in our department who knew enough to parse that language.
Back to the topic at hand...
Kropotkin - One thing I neglected to mention was to avoid resizing the barcode as much as possible. I'm sure the design you're showing us is a low res version of the final badge design which may be part of the problem people are having in scanning the barcode as it is now. Barcodes/scanners are very sensitive to being resized. While a regular image can withstand being struck down with lines blurred, barcdoes should always have clean/hard lines without losing any detail. Those blocks in the QR Code are in specific locations to designate specific data. Fudging a black/white line over a pixel or two can render the barcode unreadable or (in rare circumstances) readable, but read incorrectly.
So basically, you're full res version may be fine, but this low res version may be part of the problem people are having.
With regards to Pre-PAX events that get badges for handing out, I actually limit those to the ones listed previously due primarily with cost concerns as the badges are all posted from the UK. Sorry about that!
It's np :P
I'm Commander Shepard, and this is my favorite thread on the forums.
Kropotkin - One thing I neglected to mention was to avoid resizing the barcode as much as possible. I'm sure the design you're showing us is a low res version of the final badge design which may be part of the problem people are having in scanning the barcode as it is now. Barcodes/scanners are very sensitive to being resized. While a regular image can withstand being struck down with lines blurred, barcdoes should always have clean/hard lines without losing any detail. Those blocks in the QR Code are in specific locations to designate specific data. Fudging a black/white line over a pixel or two can render the barcode unreadable or (in rare circumstances) readable, but read incorrectly.
So basically, you're full res version may be fine, but this low res version may be part of the problem people are having.
You are correct! The images here are reduced as the full size one is the size of Belgium and for me to link them here would see Moe Fwacky use the ban hammer on my behind faster you can say 'IMAGE TOO BIG'.
Anyway, I have now complete three versions of the front of the forum badge, all with the QR Code somewhere on them. Let me know what you think of them and I shall select one to be printed out this Saturday 6th August.
QR Code Version 2 - Same as version 1 only with the background to the code highlighted.
QR Code Version 3 - QR Code placed on a traditional white background next to the forum URL.
QR Code Version 4 - QR Code placed within the forum handle text box that has been cleared of lines
I've tested them all using QuickMark on my 2 day old Samsung Galaxy SII Android smart phone and they work fine.
Posts
couldn't the "name/handle" section be shortened and put the QR code on there on one side or the other?
Do we really need "real name" on there? I would think you could cut out "Name" and just have forum handle and twitter handle stacked on the left, QR code on the right, all in that white bubble
Same app on nexus one was unable to read but I think that may just be because the image has been downscaled for display on the web.
Passes: ☑ ▬ Hotel: ☑ ▬ Flight: [color=red]☑[/color]
twitter.com/Menolly07
Would it look aweful to have it with a white background. I suppose there's always MS tag too
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
My thought would be to make the forum address text smaller, move it closer to the left edge (as we look at the image here) and place the QR code to the right of it. I think that gives it a little more meaning and doesn't cut down the logo as much.
1) Lighten the area behind the QR Code to increase contrast
2) Place the QR code to the right of the forum URL
3) Place the QR code within the form box under the badge
Thoughts on them will be gratefully received.
I had no idea the new forums were so smartphone friendly!
The most important rule of barcodes is contrast, contrast, contrast. Ideally, the barcode and the background color are complete opposites (that's why black/white are most often used). In fact, most scanners/software actually convert the image they've received into grey scale before "looking" for the barcode in the image so it's best to focus on light vs. dark when placing a barcode.
If that seems a little dense to you, think about a barcode like a 3D map rather than a flat image. Then imagine you're a blind person who can only read the map by touch. The bigger the contrast in color/brightness, the higher the peaks (colored area of a barcode) are off the page and the deeper the valleys (the background) are into the ground. The higher/deeper the peaks/valleys, the easier it is for your hand to distinguish the shape you're feeling. Colors that are too close together will "squash" these peaks/valleys making it much tougher to feel the shape blindly.
Visual Aid:
Also - try to leave some "quiet" space around the barcode. Don't put any text/other grpahics too close to the barcode. It might confuse the reader and try to interpret those extra bits as part of the barcode which will make it fail to read it. You ever notice how those UPC barcodes on the products at a grocery store have extra white space around the actual barcode? It's not to make it look pretty, it's to ensure readability of the barcode. A good rule of thumb is to try to make that space at least roughly 3 times as big as the thickest line/block in your barcode. This will give the virtual image a solid boarder to work within.
</ rant about barcode tech that nobody usually ever cares about but seems semi pertinent now >
So... to tie this all back to the badge design you're working on, you've got a black on dark blue blue barcode design. That's not a lot of contrast. You'd actually be better off flippling the color of the barcode to white if you want to leave it on top of that dark blue background. Otherwise, I think you have enough quiet space around the barcode that I don't think that would be an issue (but more is always better).
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
I used to work in the tech support department which covers all of our software products (both label design software and printer drivers). It wasn't uncommon for a customer to tell us that Zebra had told them to call us, even though they weren't using our software and the problem was clearly a printer/hardware failure that would clearly fall under Zebra's tech support coverage. (One case in particular that I will always remember is a customer that was using Zebra's own label design software and printer driver! I'm still baffled to this day how a Zebra tech thought to tell the customer to call us even though our software had never even touched the customer's computer.)
I know they have some good techs because whenever I called in with the customer, they were usually on top of everything. So I don't want to paint them as incompetent, I just know that a few techs were clearly asleep at the wheel on occasion.
Haha, I used to make some software for Zebra printers (and had to make some custom drivers at one point as well!). Thought it was interesting to see another barcode geek around here. :-)
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
(Sorry for all the edits... Catching up on the thread)
Glad I'm in thread under the deadline. Attendance for community events this year: MMT, TWDT, Girls' Meetup, (hopefully) a DQIX meetup.
These look awesome
Twitch: akThera
Steam: Thera
As an erstwhile graphic designer, incorporating the QR code within the already white area of the Forum name/twitter/Real Name block is probably the best way to go. The "Forum Handle" field is already much larger than it needs to be. Divide that section of the badge into two columns, with Forum Handle etc on the left, and the QR code on the right.
Something like this (apologies for quick butchery)
Twitch: akThera
Steam: Thera
Passes: ☑ ▬ Hotel: ☑ ▬ Flight: [color=red]☑[/color]
You're forgetting the Pre-PAX Dinner.
Well, maybe that plan won't work after all
Twitch: akThera
Steam: Thera
I like this one.
I'll throw my hat in on that suggestion as well.
Agree. I don't Twitter, so that field will be blank for me. And I tend to not like using my real name in these Con contexts.
Hungry? The Cookie Brigade!
PAX Prime 2013 Buttoneer! Main Design! And the Creeper is still waiting for you...
Slytherin House Elf for the Order of the Phoenix!
Just because we're arrogant, doesn't mean we're (completely) evil.
also i'll use this as a shameless plug for our event. So we're gonna be meeting up thursday night at 8 at the Cobra Lounge to smoke some hookah and play some games (munchkin, magic, etc). You don't have to smoke if you go, and the air isn't all nasty and crap. Everyone is welcome to come and have a great time :P Check the links for more info.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/141977/the-pre-pax-hookah-meetup#Item_80
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=251568974868533
Nevertheless I am warming to the idea of doing away with the lines within the box and the information like real name and twitter account on there. It would be much better to simply have 'forum handle' as it will enable people to write their handle alone and if they want to add anything else, put that in the space too.
With regards to Pre-PAX events that get badges for handing out, I actually limit those to the ones listed previously due primarily with cost concerns as the badges are all posted from the UK. Sorry about that!
It's nice to find a kindred barcode spirit! I never had to make actual software for the printers, being in tech support I mostly just solved people's problems, but I also had a couple contract jobs to design custom labels within our software. I used to be able to read ZPL fairly well (at least well enough to see if somebody's code was trying to tell the printer to be thermal transfer instead of direct thermal). The print code I really dove into for some strange reason was MPCL (Monarch). I was probably the only one in our department who knew enough to parse that language.
Back to the topic at hand...
Kropotkin - One thing I neglected to mention was to avoid resizing the barcode as much as possible. I'm sure the design you're showing us is a low res version of the final badge design which may be part of the problem people are having in scanning the barcode as it is now. Barcodes/scanners are very sensitive to being resized. While a regular image can withstand being struck down with lines blurred, barcdoes should always have clean/hard lines without losing any detail. Those blocks in the QR Code are in specific locations to designate specific data. Fudging a black/white line over a pixel or two can render the barcode unreadable or (in rare circumstances) readable, but read incorrectly.
So basically, you're full res version may be fine, but this low res version may be part of the problem people are having.
See you at PAX Prime!
Twitter - Automaticjim
Steam - Outbreak
If you’re winning, play safe and keep the game clean and simple. If you are losing, take risks and complicate the game.
It's np :P
You are correct! The images here are reduced as the full size one is the size of Belgium and for me to link them here would see Moe Fwacky use the ban hammer on my behind faster you can say 'IMAGE TOO BIG'.
Anyway, I have now complete three versions of the front of the forum badge, all with the QR Code somewhere on them. Let me know what you think of them and I shall select one to be printed out this Saturday 6th August.
QR Code Version 2 - Same as version 1 only with the background to the code highlighted.
QR Code Version 3 - QR Code placed on a traditional white background next to the forum URL.
QR Code Version 4 - QR Code placed within the forum handle text box that has been cleared of lines
I've tested them all using QuickMark on my 2 day old Samsung Galaxy SII Android smart phone and they work fine.
Edited: oops...didnt realize it was 2-4
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