Inspired by the US Airways in-flight magazine and their fun use of iconic images in QR codes -- and after a chat with my friends at TSDG -- I decided to try embedding an image (my face, of course) into a QR code.

How to create a QR code with an image in the center of it:

1. Creating a QR code is super easy -- http://bit.ly automatically generates one when you shorten a URL. I recommend bit.ly because the original QR code and analytics are all in one place.

2. Take your QR code and open it in your favorite design or imaging program. It takes a bit of trail and error to figure out which of the black squares (really technical term) you can cover and which are necessary for the QR reader to work.

>> The slideshow below is how my QR code looked from start to finish. Slide 1 is the original code; slide 2 shows the code with a 50% transparency, slide 3 shows the available area to place an image and slide 4 is the final product.

3. Add your image or icon to the available space and you're done.

 

Why add images to QR codes?

>> Recurring content. Have a standing QR code for coverage of a sports team or major event? Adding an image or graphic device to the QR code will help in the branding of your coverage or product.

>> Give the user a sense of the content they are about to view. Using QR codes in your product for different multimedia resources? How about creating simple iconic devices -- video, audio, photo galleries, etc. When using QR codes, you'll probably explain the content the user is about to view, but by adding an iconic image, it will give the user a quicker read.

As of now, adding images to QR codes is a time-intensive process. With that said, I think it's still worth the effort for major projects, new products or standing features. Try it out and let me know your results.

 

Have you seen any interesting uses of QR codes? Share 'em in the comments below.

Video from a camera attached to a weather balloon that rose into the upper stratosphere and recorded the blackness of space.

 

NPR's "All Tech Considered" blog on my recently launched project, GodLovesPoetry.com:

On another level, though, GodLovesPoetry is a classic example of a political satire mashup: taking a particular political message and inverting it, physically distorting the message to create a counter-message. The act of redacting the documents subjugates and subsumes Westboro's texts literally by blacking them out, leaving seemingly innocuous bits of words and phrases that go completely against the church's rhetorical intentions. Format-wise, it's not that different from the political mashups you might see plastered on telephone polls around Washington DC by protesters on any given day.

Full story: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/09/17/129934773/blog-mashup-turns-messages-of-hate-into-poetry-preaching-tolerance-and-love

It's a kite! Spotted this off A1A at Fort Lauderdale beach.

Via @NiemanLab: How do you make local media work? 10 lessons from Knight-McCormic Leadership Excellent Institute

5. Audience engagement is everything

Not everything is about big numbers.  Knowing who your community is, bringing them into the conversation, publishing their work, shaping coverage in response to their needs--these are things many Oakland-area web sites are skilled at , but that are new concepts for bigger, more main-stream publishers now fighting to stay relevant.

 

Via @Malcolli: How to prevent social media entitlement syndrome

The business and social lines or lack there of can be blurred in other ways, as well. Knowing who someone is through social media doesn’t mean we know them. People are only as transparent as they choose to be about certain aspects of their lives. We show people what we want them to see through social media. That’s not transparency, it’s strategic marketing.

 

Via @kegill: What advice would you give to a graphic design student? 

Look people in the eyes when you are talking or listening to them. The best teachers are the ones who treat their classrooms like a workplace, and the worst ones are the ones who treat their classroom like a classroom as we’ve come to expect it. Eat breakfast. Realize that you are learning a trade, so craft matters more than most say. Realize that design is also a liberal art. Quiet is always an option, even if everyone is yelling. Libraries are a good place. The books are free there, and it smells great.

Love the color + texture of this palm tree outside my apartment.

What I *didn't* have for lunch today. Spotted at Gran Forno on Las Olas.

Remember when I had Facebook Grandma star in a video with me to help explain the voting process in Mashable.com's Open Web Awards? WELL... DatingBrian.com enlisted the help of his charming grandma as a testimonial in the search for a girlfriend.

I love this project. Love the website. Love the branding. Love the videos. Love the drawings. Love it all. Here's hoping Brian finds someone who loves him as much as his grandma does.

Tropical Storm Bonnie is bringing surfer-approved waves to the normally calm waters off Fort Lauderdale beach. Except for an occassional wind gust, today's storm wasn't too bad -- just a lost day at the beach. 

Overheard in the Newsroom fans love their font humor. My favorite comment to yesterday's 'What in the Helvetica' submission:

Check out all the comments to the post in the screengrab below and join the coversation at facebook.com/OHnewsroom.