QR Code With Logo: How to Add One Without Breaking It
How do you put a logo in a QR code and keep it scanning? A logo covers modules, and the code's error correction rebuilds what's missing. So every logo spends part of that repair budget.
We show the four error correction levels (L about 7%, M 15%, Q 25%, H 30%), the same logo failing on level M and scanning on level H, and the places a logo must never go: the three finder patterns, the timing patterns and the format information. Then the rules for size, centring, a clean light border and the quiet zone, why error correction counts codewords rather than area, and why you should always test the final file on several phones.
Your logo right in the middle of your QR code.
Done well, it still scans.
Done badly, nobody gets in.
So how do you put a logo in a QR code without breaking it?
Start with the trick that makes it possible.
A logo sits on top of the code and covers some of its modules.
To a scanner, those covered modules are simply damaged, like a scratch or a smudge.
But every QR code carries spare data, called error correction.
It lets the scanner rebuild what's missing, up to a limit.
That limit depends on the level you choose.
Level L recovers about 7%, M about 15%, Q about 25%, and H about 30%.
A logo spends that budget.
And whatever it uses is no longer there for real damage, like glare, smudges, or printing defects.
Here's the same logo on the same link.
At level M, it's too much and the scan fails.
At level H, it works.
So for a logo, use level Q or H.
The code gets a little denser, but it has far more room to spare.
Next, where the logo goes.
Some parts of a QR code must never be covered.
The three finder squares in the corners.
The timing patterns that run between them, and the format information right beside the finders.
Cover a finder, and the scanner can't even tell there's a code.
No amount of error correction can save it.
Then size, keep the logo modest and centered, smaller than the error correction budget suggests.
Give it a thin, light border so it stands apart from the modules around it.
And keep the quiet zone around the whole code clear.
Finally, test it.
Error correction counts code words, not area, so the same logo can work on one code and fail on another.
Scan the final artwork on several phones, including an older one, at the printed size, and in real light.
So, how big can a logo in a QR code be?
There's no single number.
Keep it small and centered, use level Q or H, and let a test print decide.
A logo covers part of the code.
A picture code can be the whole thing.
AriaQR turns any image into a QR code that still looks like your image.
Tested on real scanners before you pay.
Make yours at ariaqr.com.
A logo covers part of the code. A picture code can be the whole thing.
