The QR code design checklist

Why the order matters

The checks run payload-first because the payload sets the density, the density sets the module size, and the module size decides whether every later styling decision survives. Fixing the payload after the artwork is approved means redoing the artwork. This list covers the design side; its companion, the print checklist, covers press mechanics (colour spaces, stock, lamination), once the design is frozen.

The twelve checks

1. Payload correct. Open the exact URL in a browser, not from memory, from the clipboard that feeds the generator. Wrong-destination codes are a category of their own.
2. Payload short. Every character raises density and shrinks modules at a given print size: the mechanism is in why longer URLs make denser codes. Shorten before generating.
3. HTTPS. Phones treat plain http:// destinations with suspicion, and so do users reading the scan prompt.
4. Error-correction level chosen, not defaulted. M for plain codes, Q or H when a logo is coming: the trade-offs are in error correction levels explained.
5. Contrast ≥ 40% luminance difference, measured, not eyeballed, rules in colours that scan.
6. Polarity dark-on-light. No inverted codes, and no theme or dark-mode context that silently flips the polarity.
7. Quiet zone ≥ 4 modules on every side, scaling with the code, surviving every layout crop: see aspect and padding.
8. Logo under budget: within the coverage limit for the chosen EC level, central, clear of the corner squares.
9. Size ≥ distance ÷ 10. Check against the real viewing distance with the size calculator or the size-by-distance table.
10. Vector master. The deliverable is SVG; any raster export is made at final size, 300 DPI minimum.
11. Decode-verified. The final artwork (not the generator preview) decodes to the exact payload in the validator. Every code UseQR generates is rendered and read back with a real decoder before download; the reasoning is in why verify that your QR code decodes.
12. Proof from the final medium. Print one, scan it with at least two phones at the real distance, in the real lighting: the protocol is in testing before printing.

Using the list

Checks 1–4 belong to whoever owns the content; 5–10 to the designer; 11–12 to whoever signs off the artwork. The expensive failures (a reprinted run, a dead code on 10,000 boxes) happen in the gaps between those owners, which is what a written checklist is for. When a check fails, the ten design mistakes page maps each failure to its fix.

FAQ

What should I check before printing a QR code?

In order: the payload opens correctly, it is as short as possible, error correction fits the design, contrast and polarity hold, the quiet zone is 4 modules or more, any logo is under budget, the size matches the viewing distance, the artwork decodes in a validator, and a printed proof scans on at least two phones.

What is the correct order for QR design decisions?

Payload first, then error correction, then styling, then size, then verification. The payload sets density, density sets module size, and module size determines how much styling and distance the code can absorb.

Who should run the QR design checklist?

Split it: content owners confirm the payload checks, designers own contrast, quiet zone, logo and size, and whoever approves final artwork owns decode verification and the printed proof. Codes fail in handoffs, not in any single step.

Is this the same as a print checklist?

No: this list freezes the design; the print checklist governs what happens at the press: colour conversion, stock, ink spread, lamination. Run the design list first, the print list at handoff, and neither substitutes for the other.