Fred Truman
Design & Code Creative
How to create QR Codes using the MECARD format
January 30, 2010
There are a lot of interesting things about Japan. I lived there for a stint back in 2006 and one thing I found remarkable was the hyper-advanced state of cell phone technology and how individuals would use this technology to interact with their everyday world in a very matter-of-fact way. One method that made this possible was the omnipresent QR Code technology.
Of the millions and billions of neatly packages products and services in Japan, nearly all came with a two-dimensional barcode embedded with bits of information that could be read using any old cell phone with a barcode scanner – and for most Japanese cell phones, even back in 2006, this was a standard feature.
You could be sitting at your local Mos Burger, whip out your phone, scan the burger menu and after viewing the nutrition information realize that you are killing yourself in the most delicious way possible (most likely while listening to the Beatles).
I’ve been seeing more and more of these 2 dimensional codes around, and after getting my Droid and a barcode scanner, I decided that I wanted to create a barcode to allow the tech savvy or the novelty seeking to save my contact information in an interesting way. Of course you could experiment with other types of data, but this is the only practical application I’ve discovered for my own personal use (although I’m interested in finding out how else the codes could be used to create more immersive experiences).
I thought the most effective method for storing contact info in a QR Code would be in a VCARD format, but I was wrong. There is another format, called MECARD (developed in Japan by docomo), that in addition to displaying plain text data in a structured way will also create action prompts for the user based on the type of data. For example, scanning a QR Code with a phone number stored in MECARD format will not only display the number but also prompt the user with a button to call the number. A similar prompt is created for emailing or committing the contents of the contact info to your phones memory. You’ll have to trust me and try it out for yourself if you’re interested.
Here’s an example MECARD file format for my contact info:
MECARD:
N:Truman,Fred;
NOTE:Graphic and Interaction Designer;
TEL:16464503733;
EMAIL:info@fredtruman.com;
URL:http://www.fredtruman.com;;
The entire process in three easy steps:
- Create your MECARD file (replace your info into the example above)
- Use this free barcode generator by selecting “QR Code” from the first dropdown menu, and pasting your MECARD into the data field (please note you might have to remove the line breaks and white space from your MECARD data)
- Set your dpi to as high as possible and generate your barcode
Just test out the result with an iPhone or Droid app, and when you get one you’re happy with simply save the gif and do what you will with your code! Wow. So simple. So nerdy. Enjoy.