• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    887 days ago

    It’s not just ugly, it’s against the spec. The quiet zone is meant to be 4 “dots” wide on all sides for the code to be optimally readable.

  • @pyre
    link
    54
    edit-2
    7 days ago

    everything is. whitespace is an important part of graphic design, especially margins. think about text that’s too close to the edge is the page or screen.

    • @humorlessrepost
      link
      English
      10
      edit-2
      6 days ago

      especially margins

      Since it has the background color of the QR code, it’s probably padding, not margin.

      ^someone please rescue me from frontend dev^

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        3
        edit-2
        6 days ago

        Here here, have some Chai. Take a break and everything.should.be.ok

        Edit: I’ve been free from web dev too long and it shows. Don’t even know my assertions anymore.

      • @pyre
        link
        1
        edit-2
        6 days ago

        i was speaking generally, which is why I mentioned pages as well as screens. that’s more of a web design distinction; never really heard of padding in any other context.

        but if you were to have a qr code on your website, you’re right, making it padding would make more sense since the border, real or imaginary, would be outside the quiet zone because it’s technically part of the code.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          16 days ago

          that’s more of a web design distinction

          I think that was the point of “someone rescue me from frontend dev” - if they’re doing so much frontend design work that they instinctively get pedantic about padding vs. margin, they need help.

          • @pyre
            link
            26 days ago

            yeah I know, but that’s still information out there and if anyone’s reading it’s nice to clarify. I both clarified and situationally agreed with them.

      • @pyre
        link
        36 days ago

        did you mean to reply to something else?

    • Todd Bonzalez
      link
      fedilink
      66 days ago

      Yes, the Quiet Zone is part of the QR spec.

      But the bottom one is still a QR code, it’s just an out-of-spec QR code. Most QR readers will still process it just fine, but there’s greater room for error depending on what surrounds the code itself.

    • @hoch
      link
      46 days ago

      padding

      Found the developer

      • @f314
        link
        25 days ago

        Everyone must submit to the CSS box model!

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          25 days ago

          i hate coding for browsers. To that end, I do not actually know css. I just called it padding when I wrote my own qr code library, because it was easier to say than “quiet zone”.

          Just like “dots” or “pixels” are easier to say than “modules”

    • @Goodie
      link
      26 days ago

      Yeah… I’m pretty sure the white space is part of the spec for a QR code.

  • @wabafee
    link
    256 days ago

    Second one feels naked

  • Eager Eagle
    link
    English
    28
    edit-2
    7 days ago

    It’s not just ugly, they don’t scan properly. I’ve had this problem many times on codes without padding because my email client or browser was set to use a dark theme.

    It often goes unnoticed because most people are using a white or clear background that gives enough contrast.

  • @Etterra
    link
    267 days ago

    I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure that empty white space around it is to keep anything trying to read the QR code from getting confused by background noise.

    • @regeya
      link
      47 days ago

      I’m saving this for later, I have people send me print ads (yeah really) and this will help.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    167 days ago

    I’m also bothered by very detailed QR codes. Milk cartons in my country had a QR-code for their website. It would be a ~10 letter url, maybe with a short path. But for some reason, the QR code was extremely detailed, as if it contained several kilobytes of data. I’m not sure if there were a large number of tracking-related parameters in the url, but it was very obviously unreasonably large.

    • @renzevOP
      link
      77 days ago

      Strongly agree on this one. Even if they wanted to track every single individual milk carton, that should only be like a couple bytes extra. Overly complex QR codes look ugly and are harder to scan

      • @WaxedWookie
        link
        66 days ago

        The complexity is likely a product of redundancy and error correction in the QR code rather than making it unique. You begin to run into issues with camera resolution and whatnot, but in theory those codes are likely more reliable.

        • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ
          link
          3
          edit-2
          6 days ago

          QR codes have built in redundancy and error correction, though. I guess if they had it turned up to the max for some reason?

          • Noxy
            link
            fedilink
            English
            16 days ago

            yeah, qr codes have different levels of error correction that you can specify, could very be well turned up to the max

            or the url has a ton of tracking params appended to it for some reason

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              16 days ago

              or the url has a ton of tracking params appended to it for some reason

              Ideally you should use a short URL that redirects to the full URL. The tracking parameters should be on the long URL, not the short one.

              • Noxy
                link
                fedilink
                English
                16 days ago

                Why is that ideal? Seems more prone to problems if the short URL service shuts down or suffers outages.

                • @[email protected]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  15 days ago

                  You don’t have to use a third-party short URL service. It can be hosted on your own site.

                  A lot of people are already using a third-party short URL service like qrco.de because they don’t realise you don’t actually need a service like that to make a QR code.

          • @WaxedWookie
            link
            16 days ago

            Yeah - that’d be my guess for an over-complicated code with minimal info.

    • @scholar
      link
      37 days ago

      Scan one and find out

  • Nine
    link
    English
    96 days ago

    I’m never gonna give up on quite space… well played btw

  • @AgentGrimstone
    link
    10
    edit-2
    7 days ago

    It’s like putting a glass of water right on the edge of the table. Give it some space ffs.

  • Xylight
    link
    fedilink
    English
    97 days ago

    It is not weird. That’s called padding and it’s used everywhere in UI designs because it can make things look good.

  • @gedaliyah
    link
    1987 days ago

    I think that the white space is actually part of the protocol?

      • @renzevOP
        link
        English
        777 days ago

        Lol this exact video is what prompted me to make the meme

    • @Tyfud
      link
      English
      527 days ago

      It’s required for contrast detection.

      Also, if it was placed on something with a black background, the borders would bleed into the background and be unrecognizable when scanning.

      This is why graphic artists don’t get to determine functional standards.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        17 days ago

        The error correction isn’t enough to overcome a bad background?

        My memories of the early days of designing these things for ad clients (we’re talking 2010-11) were that like 20% “damage” was allowed before scanning became difficult. So of course my art director wanted to put cutesy shit all over them to be “unique”.

        I just didn’t want the client to ask when it didn’t work because their phones didn’t like them.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          77 days ago

          People like your art director are the reason people like my product manager want us to write code to verify QR codes, so that our clients can tell their clients that they forgot the quiet zone and their client’s clients may have trouble reading the code.

          Damn that’s a lot of levels of clients.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          16 days ago

          Error correction helps a scanner account for portions of the code being obscured/unreadable, whereas a bad background can make a code not even recognizable as a code in the first place. (depending on the algorithm used, how bad it is, yadda yadda)

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      97 days ago

      I helped my wife make a qr code quilt (it says “quilt”). There wasn’t quite enough border around it, and you can get it to scan, but it’s not super reliable.

    • @quilan
      link
      67 days ago

      It is - without the quiet zone, it makes detecting the locator pattern really difficult, especially in one’s looking for the 1:1:3:1:1 ratio.

  • @Hobbes_Dent
    link
    917 days ago

    I spent 20 years in graphic design shit and wish I’d thought of something as cool as “quiet zone”.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      77 days ago

      I’ve seen at least one company press kit in rules on how to display their logo refer to it as “respect distance”.

      • @pyre
        link
        16 days ago

        I’ve usually used “clear space” because that’s common with spaces around logos but i like respect distance. though I don’t know what people in general would think of it after social distancing being associated with a terrible period of our lives.

    • MeatPilot
      link
      English
      47 days ago

      Personally I’m going to start saying “quiet zone” instead white space. I’ll probably get dumb looks anyway.