Sid Lee experiments with QR codes

by Jesse Kohl

Montreal-based Sid Lee tested out the mobile tech known as QR (quick response) codes at the Salon international du design d'intérieur de Montréal (SIDIM) last weekend, giving the public a chance to engage with the communications tool in order to access exclusive content.

The Sid Lee Collective kiosk, which was introducing a collection of chairs at SIDIM, was decorated in the black and white graphic images of QR codes, which are two-dimensional barcodes that redirect to URLs. Members of the public were invited to take a photo of these codes using a cell phone in order to access an online interview with the creators of the chairs.

Sid Lee president Jean-François Bouchard tells MiC the agency will be integrating QR codes into a retail project in Amsterdam and an editorial project in the USA. In the Canadian market, the agency plans to use QR codes for a client in a 2009.

"They are used to store information that generally takes up a lot of space," Sid Lee director and new media specialist Yanick Bédard says of the QR codes. "Once decoded, this information can be read with compatible cell phones. QR Codes are not used all that much here, but they're very common in Asia. Companies use them to position ads, offer coupons or record information about their partners."

SUCC (slightly uncomfortable chair concept) by Sid Lee

- Martin Gauthier

Posted in: Sid Lee collective