I’ve been in the design and branding business for about 20 years now. Yikes! And a lot has changed. When I began, the Web was an infant that no one knew how to control. TV, radio and print ruled. Since then, the Internet has flourished into the monster it is today. Innovations have been utilizing it as their springboard everyday. If only we knew how how to use these innovations effectively right out of the gate. Most don’t come with instruction manuals. But I do see one new marketing and design innovation, finally hitting the US, that is well worth some attention. And it’s not on the Web; it’s in print!
Yes, you heard me right. Print. That old sawhorse that hasn’t had an innovation in it since direct-to-plate. Yippie! I’m talking about BeeTaggs, QR Codes and Datamatrix. You may have seen them on some magazine’s here or there. Or maybe not. As a basic description, they are square versions of UPC codes. Each version has its uses, data limitations, designs and looks. So what, you ask? UPC codes have been around forever. The difference is that these codes can be read by mobile phones; transporting the owner to an online destination. I prefer to think of them as ‘Printed Hyperlinks’.

So what, you ask again, and more impatiently this time? The benefits and uses include:
- Print campaigns and contests that take you to a website with the click or wave of your phone
- Not having to remember or scribble down website or email addresses
- Instant digital communication of business card information
- Creating additional buzz with your existing campaigns
- And anything else you can dream up
We’re all looking for a leg up these days in the crowded marketing world. We spend an inordinate amount of time scouring over all of the new innovations or sites trying to figure out how to exploit them. Well, here’s one innovation that seems useful, fun and pretty straight forward. No instructions necessary.







Great post Doron! As always, you are teaching AND doing.