(wikipedia QR code)
Coding and design don't always mix. My curriculum in grad school included a class that was meant to teach us designers how to intellegently communicate to programmers in the hopes of bridging the divide between those who create the aesthetic look and feel and those who actually have to conjure it into a functional existence.
So it makes sense that when code exists outside of web design, as in the form of a barcode, for instance, it's generally dealt with as a mandatory but loathed element that takes up space and distracts from the aesthetics of a product, and therefore ends up sitting on the edge of a label or in the corner of a package. (This is not to say that designers never make an effort to cleverly incorporate barcodes into a design; the company Vanity Barcodes even offers a varity of cute graphics for improved barcode integration.)
But if the present in Japan is the future in the States, print designers will soon be dealing with a whole new beast: QR (Quick Response) codes. Created by the Japanese company Denso-Wave in 1994, QR codes are 2-dimensional codes that house more information (a URL, a phone number, etc.) than a traditional barcode and can be read by cameras on mobile phones. And unlike barcodes, which are mainly used to streamline tracking and purchasing, QR codes can serve as promotional tools that up the ante by allowing users to instantly visit a specific URL via their smart phones.
Interactive marketing, however, can only be as technologically savvy as its target audience, so while American companies like McDonalds and Disney World use QR codes in their printed collateral for years in Japan, the code has yet to appear to the same degree here. Google recently announced it will pass out QR code window decals to 100,000 businesses deemed "Favorite Places on Google" and you can buy personalized QR codes on T-shirts and patches, but the code presentation hasn't started to look particularly cool yet, perhaps because they are still seen as souped-up barcodes, instead of creative elements in and of themselves.
So back to Asia for the below examples from the creative agency SET Japan which prove that designers need not fear! QR codes will arrive but when they do, they can happily co-exist and even inspire engaging design.