Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Very good. However, I wanted to know the rules regarding how big that border has to be and how some QR codes have a logo in the middle. We all want pretty QR codes!

Also, given the choice between optimising for 21 x 21 modules or something a lot larger, what is recommended in this day and age? Is blocky best?



I've written a bit about logos at https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2010/11/hiding-space-invaders-in-qr...

Basically, at the maximum level of error correction, you can obscure up to 30% of the code (excluding the corner target) and the data is still readable.

However, most QR readers will adjust the colours they see to pure black and white - so light colours will be squashed down to white. That means you can have some pretty colourful designs and still keep the codes readable.

Ideally, the border should be at least 2 blocks wide - but modern scanners are pretty good at picking out the targets.

As for size - that depends on your target audience. If your users are sat down and have the QR in front of them, you can cram in as much data as you like. If the code is on a billboard people are far away from, use as little data as you can and make the code as physically large as possible.


"... pretty QR codes", reminds me of a paper from SIGGRAPH 2025 I saw a few weeks ago.

"Claycode: Stylable and Deformable 2D Scannable Codes"

https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.08666

https://claycode.io/pages/scene_claycode.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx9k2iyXQhY


The logo corrupts the QR code. But QR codes can be generated with different levels of error correction.

So a code with a high error correction factor can repair a QR code with a logo obliterating the middle of the code.


til. i made a little qr code creator thingy that i personally used and I didn't know it didn't work with low error correction with middle logos.


In 2020 I ran into problems with borderless qr codes. Today it seems it is not an issue anymore.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: