drb rss about
suggest
advertise
subscribe
rss rss
rss

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Japanese Creative Barcodes


"QUANTUM SHOT" #398
link


Cut out your UPC label and... frame it

Barcodes, or UPC symbols, these ubiquitous emblems of our consumer civilisation, have received a radical makeover by a Japanese firm D-Barcode - and this time their ideas ended up on grocery products all over Japan.



Simple, yet brilliant ideas:



The first time you pick your bottle of pop or a package of milk, you might not even notice anything different, with all the intensity and typical clutter of Japanese package design. But take a closer look - and the charmingly designed UPC masterpieces will amuse you, make you smile, and might even cause you to go hunting for other products, to start your collection.



Trust Japanese to "glorify" every single mundane detail, to cheerfully enhance consumer experience - by adding something extra, a little thing, so easy to miss. But now, with these creative bar codes, the package design in Japan has truly become perfect.




Other barcode art pops up from time to time: This is "Flowers" by Dave Herbert - via




Russian Barcode Posters

Art Lebedev design studio has been issuing wildly creative posters (featuring barcode symbolics) for years. View the whole creative gallery of them here and download some for your desktops. Some examples:











As you can see, there is truly an abundance of ideas... It seems that barcode symbols are ingrained in the very fabric of our reality. Philip K. Dick, for once, would've certainly spotted a conspiracy in all this. As for us, we'll just keep shopping and innocently buying everything that scans.


Barcodes permeate modern design

Just try to have an exhibition of modern furniture without a few examples popping up, like this one:

"The Bar Code Chandelier", by Mobilet design studio:




More glowing barcode light fixtures by Hampstead Lighting:




Check out a LEGO barcode scanner, described on this page. It includes an actual miniature laser, so handle it with care:




How about a bar code building? - via




Portraits, made entirely from UPC codes and barcodes? Sure, check out the gallery of Scott Blake. He's got Monroe, Elvis and, of course, Jesus - which is a commentary on the consumerism and kitsch of our times.




"MAD" magazine ran a few imaginative barcode covers back in 1979 (more here) -




Want to know the time? Click on his Barcode Clock:




And as it is a custom nowadays to finish with a cute or LOL-lified cat pictures, no matter what the subject of an article, here are the "Barcode Kitties!" - Hello Kitty spin-off for those in need of a truly geeky cuteness:





Sources via Katize, izreloaded, BarcodeNerds

Permanent Link......+StumbleUpon ...+Facebook
Category: Gadgets,Art

Dark Roasted Blend's Photography Gear Picks:


READ LATEST POSTS:

May 10, 2008 - Quantum Shot #419
Weird Inventions by Guys, Part 7

Special Summer Selection!

May 9, 2008 - Biscotti Bits
Mixed Links & Images

incl. "Parkour, First Person View"
(for other daily "Biscotti" issues - see our main page)

COMMENTS:

16 Comments:

Blogger Tanya Brown said...

Cool post.

Re: the custom barcodes on products, the late Rick Tharp, a graphic designer here in the U.S., was also known for that. It caused a bit of a stir at the time. I want to say that he did it first, during the late eighties, but in the absence of solid research, I shouldn't. Who knows ... perhaps he got the idea from the Japanese.

Hmph. Maybe I shouldn't write rambling comments on others' blogs when I've just woken up.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Back in the early days of bar codes on periodicals, Mad Magazine used to do some quite imaginative things to the bar codes on the front cover. Look at the CollectMad web site collection of covers, starting around the last half of 1979.

___  
Anonymous David Dancy said...

Check out the album 'Seed to Sun' by Boom Bip. It is on the Warp/Lex label and has a very beautifully illustrated and combined inner and outer sleeve which when inserted correctly reveals the bar-code through a cutout window.

___  
Blogger Jogma said...

Two of my favourite things! Barcodes and Japanese stuff.

Amazing blog :)

___  
Blogger Archyslave said...

I remember seeing one of these on a bottle of Axe in Osaka. I bought one to bring back, but I think it was confiscated by the TSA :)

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The EE/CS building at the University of Minnesota: Twin Cities has a barcode on the sidewalk containing the date the building was erected.

___  
Anonymous Curtis Moore Art Code said...

Eye-opening post, really like the examples you put together, especially the clock.

Barcodes carry a lot of information, but one neat thing about them is the permutations of the word:

abc redo
coed bar
rode cab
bra code
drab ceo
bad core
race bod
bod care
brocade

:)

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cans of Tecate beer have an eagle-shaped UPC code.

___  
Blogger brett said...

i love the one that says "free range human" in the flower pedals

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://blog.yam.com/kiroro9930/article/14450063

GOOD~~

___  
Anonymous Adam Hyman said...

Wow, those are some interesting designs.

Congrats on being featured on BoingBoing!

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cool barcode from Slovenia:

http://shrani.si/?2j/Uo/3nW8zF6t/barcodefructal.jpg

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

LA based artist Guillermo Bert has a great series of Bar Code pieces.

http://www.gbert.com/barcod5.htm

___  
Blogger Lady Guady said...

My favourite is the barcode building!!

___  
Blogger yaqui said...

The japanese barcodes were awarded the highest distinction the most coveted Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival gives out to the most breakthrough, groundbreaking, media changing idea.

___  
Anonymous infoGue said...

it's good article, You can make your video more popular to primary Indonesian Social Community site at InfoGue.com. Get more traffic from Indonesian community members by installing INFOGUE widget. your article:

http://design.infogue.com/barcode_jepang_yang_kreatif_dan_unik

___  

Post a Comment

<< Home


SF ART & BOOK REVIEWS:
Fiction Reviews: William Gibson Stories
Novella Review: Charles Stross "Missile Gap"
Rare Pulp Fiction: Apocalyptic Blockbusters

MORE RECENT POSTS:


World's Smallest Cars, Part 2

Great things come in small packages


Soviet Futuristic Illustration:
Oodles of Optimism


Black-and-white rare series of images


Funny Animals, Part 11

Natural hilarity reaches a new high


Nightmare Playgrounds, Part 2

Manic-Depressive Creativity


Shipwrecks & Sea Disasters

The Beauty & the mystery of the wrecked ships


Unforgettable Faces, Part 3

Cast your vote for the most entertaining expression


The Tasty Art of Chocolate & Candy

Never eat an Easter Chocolate Bunny Again


The "Falling Towers" of New Chinese TV Center

Radical architecture for outdated propaganda machine


Out-of-This-World Fishing

Big Fish Extravaganza, Part 2


Senseless Signage, Part 10

Don't try to figure these signs out. Get a GPS instead.


Are You... You?

The Wonderful World of Parasites


Commercialized Clouds

Lucy in the Sky with Logotypes


You Know You Want This...
Steampunk Gear Masterpieces


plus interview with "Aaron Adding Machines"


Smile! You're in Politics
(Funny Pics)


Politicians in paroxysms of thought and deliberation


World's Strangest Vehicles, Part 4

Sheer Auto Adrenaline!


Extreme Exploration:
Russian Nuclear Research Facilities


Deep under the mountain, or in the world's deepest lake


Miniature Spy Guns, Part 2

Do not move while I destroy you, Mr Bond


Never Give Up! (Funny Pics)

Crazy Logistics, Issue 8


Most Beautiful Fractals

Infinite possibilities for art


Cool Ads, Issue 10

Visually arresting and deliciously weird


Japanese Creative Barcodes

Cut out your UPC label and... frame it!


The Geekiest LEGOs &
Rubik's Cubes


The world of twisted dimensions


Disturbing Wiring, Part 4

More Tangled Awesomeness


Russian Nuclear Icebreakers:
To the North Pole!


Odyssey in the Arctic with Russian Icebreaker Fleet


The Deadliest Creatures
(Most Easy to Miss)


The Real Terror Lurks in Quiet Darkness


Strangest Christian Products & Signs

Repent! the end of good taste is in sight!


Lovely Ladies of Yesteryear, Part 2

Vintage eye-candy, guaranteed
(very mildly nsfw)


Fear & Loathing inside
Abandoned Stalin's Mines


Fire & Ice Underground


Armenia: The Epic Land

This kind of nature needs an IMAX


Time Machine:
World's Biggest Collider


Have a loophole in time, will travel


Airplane Oops! Situations
Part 2


Aviation Safety for Dummies

MORE OF THE RECENT POSTS:








Surreal Art Update
Funny Animals, Part 10
Worst Intersections & Traffic Jams
Radical Mannequins
Police can be Intense
Airship Dreams
Weird Inventions by Guys, 6
Russian Imperial Faberge Eggs
Most Elegant Skyscrapers
Gas Mask Fashion, Part 2
Discovering Iran, Part 2
Coolest Retro Devices
Moments in Sports, Part 6
Nightmare Playgrounds
Steam-Powered Messiah
Weirdest Accidents, Part 3
Huge Road Trains
Ladies in Space
Weird Signs, Part 9
Fallen Cranes Galore
World's Most Curious Ephemera
Mystery Plain of Jars in Laos
Overwhelmed at Work
Robots in Arts
Miniature Spy Guns
Love, Romance & Parenting
Tank Accidents, Part 2
Ice & Snow Carving Art
Train Graveyard in Bolivia
Retro-Future: Transportation
Painting with Light
Animals Having Fun, Part 9
- many more in the Archives and in the Contents Index (left bar)

FULL ARCHIVES (with previews, fast loading):

April 2008 -- March 2008
February 2008 -- January 2008 -- December 2007 -- November 2007
October 2007 -- September, 2007 -- August 2007 -- July 2007
June 2007 -- May 2007 -- April 2007 -- March 2007 -- February 2007
January 2007 -- December 2006 -- November 2006 -- October 2006
Link Latte archives


CATEGORIES:
airplanes | animals | architecture | art | auto | boats | books | cool ads | funny pics |
futurism | food | gadgets | health | history | humour | internet | link latte | military |
music | nature | photo | science | science fiction & fantasy | signs | space | sports |
technology | trains | travel | vintage | weird



Airplanes
Animals
Architecture
Art
Auto
Biscotti
Boats
Computers
Cool Ads
Food
Funny Pics
Futurism
Gadgets
Health
History
Humour
Link Latte
Military
Music
Nature
Photography
Science
Science Fiction

Space
Sports
Technology
Trains
Travel
Vintage
Weird






DRB feed on Twitter

Avi Abrams
Rachel Abrams
Erlend Aaseth
M. Christian
Michael Colwill
The Free Geek
James Golbey
Andrew N. Grimes
Jason Heath
Joshua S. Hill
Paul Schilperoord
Scott Seegert
Constantine vonHoffman

- Join Our Team -
Guidelines




  • Ok, now I want a screensaver of those dizzying four dimensional cubes.
    Read more

  • the check is two-tenths of a cent. E to the i*pi is -1 and the infinite sum is 1 so the total is .002 dollars.
    Read more

  • The Verizon check is from the great XKCD. Randall Munroe is the creator of the webcomic.
    Read more

  • Speaking of Rubik's Cubes, I was pissed off recently to discover that in Korea, they are known as "Edison Cubes." Even in death Edison continues to steal the inventions of better inventors.
    Read more

  • what is the blue lego-spaceship thingy?
    i kind of have the feeling, that i know it from somewhere. maybe from some computer game?

    and did i recognize the spaceship benaeth the blue one right as the one from the game "Descent"?
    Read more

  • I wrote these about 10 years ago, sorry if they're a bit crude: http://byrden.com/puzzles/
    Read more

  • René - the bottom one does superficially resemble Descent's Pyro-GX, but with some substantial differences.

    http://www.funbox3d.com/rebirth/3d_images/3D%20-%20Pyro%20GX.jpg
    Read more

  • That Blue ship you're talking about is most certainly a Vaygr ship from the Homeworld 2 game.

    Or is it ???

    I could not be less sure.

    Great post, as usual. Keep up the good work Avi !
    Read more

  • The German steampunk stuff is not "Nazi", but for a fictional German Empire, doubtless inspired by that of the Kaiser.

    ("Deutsches Reich" just meaning "German Government"; that's why the Nazis were the "Third Reich", because they were the third notional unified German state, after the Holy Roman Empire and the Kaiser's unification of Germany.

    The term has no specific relation to fascism and its repulsive ideology.)
    Read more

  • It would be so cool to see a slow motion video of the lego car hitting something head on at a high speed...
    Read more

  • I think the "blue lego-spaceship thingy" is the military spaceship from "Aliens" (which carried Ripley and a detatchment of Marines back to the planet where the beastie was found).

    I want to say it was the Scirroco, or Suroko, or something like that.

    Best of the series, IMHO
    Read more

  • hey guys the blue one i,m 90% sure is the "Sulaco" first seen in Aliens ;)
    Read more

  • don't forget the Touch Rubik's Cube!

    http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/touch-rubiks-cube
    Read more

  • Very interesting!! Very cool!!
    Read more

  • The blue ship is definitely NOT the Sulaco, it's more inspired by the homeworld ships, and they in turn are inspired by the Sulaco... also, the Predator head is made of Lego!
    Read more

  • Now this is a LEGO model! Over 180Kg in weight and over 300.000 pieces used!

    http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2007/01/lego-aircraft-carrier.html
    Read more

  • Thank you guys for info - post updated
    Read more

  • The M.C. Escher model was built by Andrew Lipson, whose page is here. Sadly, that picture has been reposted all over the internet without credit to the builder.

    The life-size Han Solo in Carbonite is by Nathan Sawaya, not Erik Varszegi. This is his post about it on LUGNET.

    The Homeworld-inspired blue spaceship and the gray fighter right below it were built by Danny Rice, whose Flickr page is here.
    Read more

  • Oh, and the "geekiest" in the title is meant as a highest compliment :)
    Read more