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Design company D-Barcode came up with these creative alternatives to the conventional bar code. These actually work, and are currently being used on products sold in grocery stores across the country. It's a great example of the attention to detail and intricacy that the Japanese are known for—even for things that ordinarily don't have any artistic value. More pics after the jump.
Link (Thanks, Adam!)
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In 2008, Chronicle published my book: Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan.
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I'm totally impressed!
This is amazingly creative and innovative!
Posted by: Akai | April 04, 2008 at 11:42 AM
I think these bar codes don't comply with the standard (only handheld scanners can read them) but hey, nicely done!! :)
Posted by: Patrick | April 05, 2008 at 07:43 AM
@ patrick- Actually, I've seen some of these on the goods we get up at one of our Asian markets (most notable on a box of cookies sitting on my desk), and they were fully scannable on the register's built in reader. Pretty spiffy, and it brings a smile to my face to see them, they're so much better than boring barcodes.
Posted by: silentluciditi | April 05, 2008 at 11:01 AM
@ silentluciditi: thx for the info. That makes customers happy even when paying at the cash register ;) I wonder when I'll see these in North America.
Posted by: Patrick | April 07, 2008 at 05:50 PM