January 2015: a code for adding an account
In its post of 4 May 2015, Snapchat explains that it introduced Snapcodes in early January to make adding friends easier. The journey described involves pointing the Snapchat camera at the code, then tapping the screen to add the associated account.
4 May marks another step: Snap announced vector files and branding guidelines for sharing and customising the code. January’s introduction and May’s announcement therefore describe different events.
The reader is part of the journey
A Snapcode belongs to the Snapchat journey. The service’s support describes it as an image to scan with Snapchat and lists several possible actions today. Those current uses should not all be attributed to the January 2015 version.
For the reader, the useful question is: “Which app, and where will it take me?” A QR code containing a page address and a code intended to find an account need different explanations. A code’s appearance alone cannot promise that any tool will read it.
The guide to how a QR code works explains the relationship between the data read and the action offered next.
A photography club with two destinations to explain
Consider the fictional photography club “Les Reflets”. Its poster should introduce its social account and provide access to its outings programme. These two needs deserve two precise instructions.
- To find the account, the team uses the code supplied by the relevant service and names the intended app.
- To view the programme, it chooses a public page and prepares a QR code containing its address. A “View the programme” caption states the destination.
If the poster has room for only one action, the club chooses the audience’s priority. A programme page can also provide a named link to the account. The scenario is fictional; no club account or Snapcode is created here.
The guide to QR captions helps choose a clear verb and destination for the medium.
Preparing the public-page QR code with Qurl
With the Qurl generator you can encode the programme page’s address. That QR code holds a web address; it does not become a Snapcode or add anyone to a Snapchat account.
Before choosing the destination, open the page without the club’s management session: the audience needs to be able to view the programme under the stated conditions. If the QR opens the wrong page, the destination-checking guide helps find the intended address.
On the poster, a readable address also provides access for people who do not scan. The guide to QR alternatives helps plan that second route.
The useful lesson: name the action after scanning
The 2015 milestone is a reminder that a code is more than its pattern: the reading service and destination matter too. On a printed medium, “Find our account” and “Read our programme” are different promises.
Two other retrospectives help compare the journeys: Spotify Codes in 2017, linked to discovering content within Spotify, and the WhatsApp Web QR code in 2015, intended to pair a browser. In each case, explicit instructions help the audience choose the right action.