Who Invented QR Codes? – An Exploration of QR Codes’ Past, Present, and Future

QR codes were invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara and his team at Denso Wave, a Japanese company affiliated with Toyota. Originally designed for tracking automotive parts, these two-dimensional barcodes have evolved into an essential digital tool used worldwide on product packaging, marketing materials, and mobile payments. Despite their modern ubiquity, QR codes are 30 years old, predating the widespread use of smartphones that would eventually make them a cornerstone of digital-physical connectivity.

So, it might be surprising to learn that QR codes aren’t even an invention of this millennium, and came from humble beginnings. If you’re curious about QR codes history, you’re in the right place! Join us here at My QR Code, as we answer questions like who invented QR codes, and explore their development over the years which allowed them to become such a staple of modern life. Let’s dive in!

Who Invented QR Codes?

QR codes were invented in 1994, by a team of just two people headed by engineer Masahiro Hara at the Japanese company Denso Wave. Denso Wave (who were a subsidiary of Toyota), tasked Hara and his team with the creation of a 2D-barcode all the way back in 1992, that could store and track information on automotive parts.

Why Was There a Need for QR Codes?

The automotive industry is made up of a lot of moving parts (both figuratively and literally). Specifically, when it comes to automotive parts, manufacturers would bring in parts from different businesses and locations, making processes like tracking and logistics particularly difficult.

While 1D barcodes existed (like those found in shops and are scanned at checkouts), Denso Wave recognized that they were extremely limited in the amount of data that could be stored, which made them unsuitable for more data-intensive processes like parts tracking. But, that wouldn’t be a problem for barcodes that stored information in the 2D-format.

The only issue is that barcode scanners might struggle to identify the code, especially if it contains a large amount of information. Thankfully, this issue was solved thanks to a crucial design aspect of QR codes, which we’ll go over in the next section.

How was the QR Code Designed?

One of Masahiro Hara’s main goals with initial designs was that scanners had to be able to identify the 2D-barcode quickly. Hara quickly identified that this would be possible if the barcode itself had a ‘finder’s pattern’. On a QR code, these are the corner squares which are formed into an upside-down ‘L’ shape. With this feature, scanners could quickly find the QR code, even if the areas around a QR code are busy.

As for the rest of the QR code, this was actually inspired by an old Japanese game, Go. In the game, black and white stones are used as game pieces, which gave way to the black-and-white square patterns that we see with the QR code.

QR Code Adoption

So, one-and-a-half years after Denso Wave first tasked him with coming up with 2D-barcode, Hara and his team had the finished Quick Response (QR) code. However, next came the other big issue: Adoption. For the QR code to properly make an impact on autopart tracking and manufacturing, they’d need to ensure that other companies were using it, too.

Confident in the functionality and performance of the QR code, Hara began making rounds to leaders and companies within the automotive industry, who quickly recognized the utility of the QR code and began implementing it rapidly. Following this, other industries (including medical, retail, food, and more), also began seeing the benefits of the QR code, and also began adopting it in Japan.

However, widespread adoption in Japan really began around 2002, where almost every industry was using QR codes in some form for business processes. This was thanks to Denso Wave not patenting QR codes, as the development team wanted them to be something any business (or person!) could use at any time. However, it would still take some time before QR codes could be used by the general public, which brings us nicely to our next section.

Public Adoption of QR Codes

Widespread public adoption of QR codes began in the early to mid 2010s, mostly as a response to the development of mobile technology and data networks. Mobile phones became smarter, and were shipped with in-built cameras which could scan QR codes. This meant that QR codes could be expanded to cover processes that would be useful for consumers.

It was around this time that QR codes would be included on things like product packaging, advertisements, etc., and could be linked to supplementary information, product pages, loyalty programs, and so much more. And as they provided businesses a new way to encourage consumers to interact with brands, almost every business included QR codes into their strategies.

And even now in the 2020s, the use of the QR code doesn’t seem to be slowing! In fact, there are around 8 QR codes generated every second in 2024, showing just how popular they are.

How Much Data Can a QR Code Store?

One of the major advantages of the QR code is their vast data storage capabilities. The maximum amount of data that can be stored on a QR code is around 3KB (Kilobytes) of data. That means that QR codes can encode up to 7,089 numeric characters, or 4,296 alphanumeric characters.

However, the maximum amount of data that can be encoded in a QR code is directly related to the size of a QR code. That means, the smaller the QR code, the smaller the amount of data that can be stored. For a more comprehensive guide, we recommend taking a look at our guide on the best size of QR codes.

Other Types of 2D-Barcode

QR codes aren’t the only 2D-barcode, with many iterations being introduced over the years. While none have ever reached the popularity and adoption rates of QR codes, some of them can still be seen to this day. Take a look at the list below:

Matrix Codes
Aztec Codes
PDF417
Maxi Codes
NTIN Codes
PPN Codes
rMQR Codes
UDI Codes
Micro QR Codes

QR Code Use Cases

Going into the multitude of QR code use cases would require a whole host of different articles of their own. The important thing to know is that QR codes are used in some form in almost any industry that you can think of. We’ve compiled some examples in the list below:

Future of QR Codes

While QR codes have remained the king of 2D-barcodes for 30 years now (mostly thanks to SPARQCode standardization protocols), they’ll need to evolve to keep up with the fast-paced and data-centric ideals of the modern world. That means that we’re likely to see new developments to increase the data capacity of QR codes.

For instance, one particularly exciting development is the creation of Bokodes from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Bokodes can include multiple QR codes in a circular dot powered by an LED light, allowing them to store a vast amount of data. However, we’re unlikely to see any new implementations of QR codes for many years, especially when it comes to widespread adoption. That means it’s still beneficial to generate QR codes.

Generating Your Own QR Code

While in prior years, generating QR codes required specific software, now there many options available on the web, like our very own My QR Code. Generating QR codes is incredibly easy, and can be completed within a few minutes, even by complete beginners! Follow the steps below, using the My QR Code link generator as an example:

Visit the My QR Code Link Generator page,
Click on ‘Generate Link QR Code’,
In the empty field, paste the link you want to direct users to. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to name your QR code so you can find it on the My QR Code platform later if you need to make changes,
Next, you’ll be able to design your QR code in any way you see fit. You’ll be able to change the color, choose between corner square and QR pattern presets, and even add your own logo for a fully personalized QR code.
Click ‘Finish’ once you’re done fine-tuning the design, where you’ll move onto the next screen where you can test the readability of the QR code. Make sure it can be picked up by smartphone scanners, and that your link is correct.
Once that’s done, you can save it to your device, and then print it in three formats: SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), PNG (Portable Network Graphics), or JPEG (Joint Photographics Expert Group).

And just like that, you’re done!