In a weak world economy where everyone is trying to be conservative with cash, new architectural projects go unbuilt more often than not. That doesn’t stop architects from designing incredible structures, though – it only means that they have to come up with slightly more creative ways of sharing them with the world. The Dutch postal service and the Netherlands Institute of Architecture joined forces to bring amazing architecture to the world via augmented reality.

The cooperative project aimed to present the public with architecture that would never see the light of day in the real world but still deserved to be admired. Working with Dutch advertising agency Gummo, the Netherlands Institute of Architecture and Dutch postal service created a very unusual sheet of stamps.

Some of the stamps display pictures of unbuilt but visionary architecture. Others contain QR codes that actually bring the structures to life. Holding one of the QR code stamps up to a webcam while visiting the project website makes one of the revolutionary buildings come to life right in the palm of your hand.

The project is a perfect example of how technology can help us overcome problems in new and unexpected ways. These wonderful buildings may not be able to find a budget in real life, but putting them into the hands – literally – of architecture enthusiasts gives them a chance to be seen and to provide inspiration.

The world of digital media tends to feel a bit cold and impersonal. Is there a way to personalize an interaction between a human being, a printed QR code and a digital story of creativity? Designers Lauren Manning and Camile Wei-Hsin Lin put together The Curiosity Project to find out.

(all images via: Laura Manning Design)

The project involved two distinct yet interconnected layers: print media and digital media. The pair decided to use QR codes to drive visitors to the project blog, but they didn’t want to simply post the typical digitally-generated black-and-white pixels. Instead, they made their QR codes by hand.

Using familiar materials like small magnets, Hershey’s Kisses and Post-It notes, the team constructed analog QR codes that were precise enough to be scanned by handheld mobile devices.

Manning and Lin created the analog QR codes by printing or projecting the image of the code onto their work surface, then placing the “pixels” in the appropriate places. They then made the images into posters and stickers and hung them up around New York City.

Scanning the code would take an observer to The Curiosity Project blog, a simple page which, at the time the project was “live,” had only one post visible at a time. During the project, there was no archive and each post was only viewable for 24 hours. The QR codes they posted around the city encouraged people to visit each and every day for new inspiration.

The blog posts center on topics of creativity in its many forms. From urban art installations to LEGO creations to video projects that seek out the unique stories of individuals, The Curiosity Project covers all types of subjects that will no doubt appeal to a WebUrbanist fan’s tastes.

After the one-day run of each blog post, the designers compiled images from each post and put them into collages. These weren’t just digital combinations of photos, though – they were another play on the analog/digital theme: the digital pictures were transferred to postcards which could then be sent via snail mail.

Great art is not only beautiful, but deeply meaningful to both the artist and the viewer. Artist Scott Blake has made a name for himself creating art with bar codes: those simple black-and-white stripey codes you find on nearly everything you buy. Now he is experimenting with the bar code’s younger, hipper cousin, the QR code.

(all images via: Walyou)

The QR code (short for quick response) is popping up in the most unusual places these days. It is typically used in advertisements to provide additional information about the product being promoted. Unlike bar codes, no special equipment is needed to extract information from a QR code; they can be read by most smart phones.

Blake’s QR code portrait depicts Amy Goodman, a journalist and host of the independent news program Democracy Now! The portrait features a staggering 2,304 QR codes, all arranged perfectly according to their balance of light and dark to create a surprisingly detailed portrait of Goodman’s face.

The codes take viewers to Democracy Now! videos that span nine years – an impressive collection of art in its own right. The portrait portrays not only the likeness of the person featured, but her life’s work as well.