Barcode Art

Here’s a great way to use barcodes, they are unlikely to work but they look great. Barcode art is a unique way of re-imagining one of the most well know features in the modern world.

Everyone knows what a barcode is. We see them on pretty much everything we buy. A barcode is practical, extremely efficient and some would even say vital. But, alas, also boring.

There are many different ways unusual shapes and features are used in art, way to many for me to even being to show examples of. Simple black and white line draws can create some striking images. Barcodes are regimented lines of set sizes and not often thought of in any way beyond the practical.

Looking at the image above you can see there are many ways in which barcodes can be manipulated, and still look like a barcode, to create something completely different.

Many of these barcodes might actually scan, maybe. Although you wouldn’t be allowed to use them in a retail application it still shows what a bit of ingenuity can accomplish with even the most mundane. My favorite is the waterfall (top right)