01. Work with generous contrast
Keep a minimum 40% contrast difference between foreground and background colours. Dark ink on a light substrate still delivers the fastest, most reliable scans, especially for older smartphone cameras and low-end hardware.
If you’re working with brand colours, treat pure black (or near-black) as a non-negotiable for the key elements of the code. The three finder patterns (the large squares in the corners) and the smaller alignment patterns act as anchors for the camera—washing them out with gradients or low-contrast colours can make the code look great in Figma and terrible in the real world.
As a rule of thumb, use your brand palette for the “body” modules and background, but keep the finders as close to solid black on a light background as possible. When in doubt, print a sample and test it from a distance before locking the palette into your design system.
02. Respect quiet zones
Every QR code needs a clear margin of whitespace around it—the “quiet zone.” Aim for at least four modules worth of empty space on all sides. This quiet zone requirement is also defined in the official QR Code standard (ISO/IEC 18004) published by the International Organization for Standardization, which helps ensure that scanners can reliably detect where the code begins and ends.
When embedding QR codes inside posters, UI cards, or packaging, consider adding a faint border or keyline around the code. This subtle visual frame reminds designers not to place copy, logos, or decorative elements too close, and it gives print teams a clear boundary when trimming or resizing artwork.
In your design system, document quiet zone requirements alongside logo clear-space rules. Treat it as a brand constraint rather than an optional tweak, especially for campaigns that rely on high scan rates.
03. Embed logos without sacrificing fidelity
A well-placed logo can make a QR code feel aligned with your brand instead of a generic black box—but it also eats into the data area that scanners rely on. To keep legibility high, you need to trade some error correction for visual flair, not the other way around.
- Increase error correction first. Use high error correction (level Q or H) before placing a logo in the centre. This gives the code room to “lose” some modules without becoming unreadable.
- Watch the logo footprint. As a guideline, keep the logo within 15–20% of the overall code footprint. Oversized logos may look strong on a monitor but will collapse under poor lighting or at longer viewing distances.
- Create a clean backdrop. Add a subtle white “pill” or rounded rectangle behind the logo mark to separate it from the underlying modules. This improves recognition of both the logo and the QR pattern, and helps prevent visual noise from killing contrast.
If you’re building a multi-brand system, define one or two “logo-safe” templates and reuse them instead of experimenting from scratch every time. Consistency here pays off in both scan reliability and visual familiarity.
04. Prototype on real hardware
On-screen previews are useful, but they can’t tell you how a QR will behave under real-world conditions. Before you sign off, test the code under poor lighting, glossy lamination, and with older or mid-range smartphone cameras—not just the latest flagship device.
Print at multiple sizes and confirm that the minimum distance/size ratio matches your environment. As a starting point, think in use cases: a 1-inch square for hand-held packaging, 3–4 inches for table tents, and 8 inches or more for signage that’s meant to be scanned from several metres away.
Document the results as “scan distance guardrails” inside your design system. Capture which sizes, surfaces, and colour combinations consistently pass your tests, and turn them into presets in your QR builder so future campaigns start from proven settings instead of guesswork.
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