By Canvy
Many people who stop at your booth won't buy that day, and plenty won't take a business card either. QR codes for art fairs fix the second part. A small code beside each piece lets a visitor keep the work on their phone, look at it again later and get in touch when they're ready. This guide covers what the code should open, how big to print it, where to put it and how to follow up after the show.
Why a QR code beside your art is worth it
A fair is a busy place to make up your mind about a painting. The Other Art Fair asked its fair directors what makes a successful booth. Their answer was plain: collectors may need time to decide, and curators may come back later in the weekend. Their advice to exhibitors is to collect contact details whenever possible and follow up after the event.
That's hard to do one visitor at a time. A sign-up sheet asks for an email address before someone is ready to give one. A business card ends up in a coat pocket. A QR code asks for nothing: the visitor points their phone at it and keeps your work. The conversation carries on after they walk away, when they choose.
What a scan should open
A code is only as good as the page behind it. When someone scans the code beside a piece, they should land on that piece, not on your home page. On their phone they should find:
- The artwork, large, with its title and size
- A short description, and the price if you want to show it
- One tap to reach you, by email or an app they already use
There should be nothing to install and no account to create. On an iPhone, the Camera app reads a QR code and shows a link to tap. Pixel phones do the same from their Camera app.
Make a label for every piece
In Canvy, every artwork can have its own QR code, printed as a wall label. Make a code for each piece you're bringing and download its label as a PDF, 10 × 15 cm, portrait or landscape. It shows the code with the artwork's name and your choice of its size, price and description, as they are in your library when you print. Tag the codes with the fair or venue, so you can tell your shows apart later.
A code can open your own link instead, like an Etsy listing. You can change where it goes at any time, and printed codes keep working.
For the whole show, put the works in a collection. It gets its own page and link, to send to the people you met or to put behind a QR code on a sign at your booth. It stays offline until you switch it on, and on Pro you can add a password for a private preview. That helps when you want a few collectors to see the work before the doors open.
Print QR codes for art fairs that scan the first time
Whatever you use to make your codes, a few rules decide whether they scan at the first try.
Size them for the distance
Bitly, which makes QR codes, says a printed code should be at least 2 cm by 2 cm (about 0.8 in) for most phones to read it. It puts the ratio of scanning distance to code size at about 10:1. A code beside a painting, read from arm's length, can be small. A code on a banner at the back of the booth has to be much bigger: read from 3 meters away, it needs to be about 30 cm wide.
Leave a clear margin
A QR code needs empty space around it. Denso Wave, which released the QR code in 1994, specifies a margin four modules wide on every side, where a module is one of the code's small squares. Keep frames, borders and your price out of that space.
Keep it dark on light, and matte
Print the code black on white, or as close to that as your design allows. Avoid glossy paper and laminate, because under fair lighting a reflection can hide part of the code. Google's own scanning advice is to avoid shadows or glare on the code.
Test every code before you pack
Scan each printed label with two different phones, from where a visitor would stand. Check that it opens the right piece. Then check again at the venue, in its light, once the labels are up.
Where to put the codes at your booth
- Beside each piece, on or next to its wall label, at about eye height. The visitor looking at a painting is the one most likely to scan it.
- One code for the whole show where people pause: on the table, on your price list and on the back of your business card.
- A short line of text with every code, so people know what they'll get: "Scan to save this piece" or "Scan to see the whole show".
- Good light on the codes. A code in the shadow of your booth wall is a code nobody scans.
At the show: invite the scan
You don't need a pitch. When someone lingers in front of a piece, tell them they can scan the label beside it to keep the painting on their phone, with its size and details. Some visitors who aren't ready to talk are happy to scan.
If you change a price during the show, the page a scan opens shows the new price right away. The printed label still shows the old one, so print it again, or leave the price off the label and talk about it in person. In Canvy, the app on your phone can notify you the moment someone scans.
After the show: read the scans and follow up
The scans are your notes from the fair. In Canvy, every scan is counted. You see scans hour by hour, which artworks people scanned most, how many tapped to contact you and your stand's busiest hours. Scans show up within minutes, so you can check them during the show as well.
Then put them to work:
- A piece that drew scans but didn't sell deserves another look. Post it again, or bring it to your next show.
- Follow up with everyone who left their details or wrote to you while the fair is still fresh. A short personal note about the piece they liked does more than a newsletter.
- When the show is over, leave the codes on, point them at your shop or another page, or switch them off. Your scan stats stay.
- Note what worked and what didn't, so the next fair starts from there.
A checklist for your next fair
Before the show
- Pick the works, and make a QR code label for each one
- Add titles, sizes, descriptions and, if you want, prices
- Print the labels, test each code and pack a few spares
- Put the works in a collection for the show, and switch it on before the doors open
At the show
- A code beside every piece, and one for the whole show on the table
- A short line of text with each code
- Light on the codes, and nothing printed in their margins
After the show
- See which pieces were scanned most
- Follow up while the fair is fresh
- Leave the codes on, point them somewhere new or switch them off
- Write down what worked
Questions artists ask
Do visitors need an app?
No. Scanning a QR code opens your work in the phone's web browser, with no app and no sign-up.
Can I change a price after printing?
Yes. The page a scan opens always shows the current price. The printed label shows the price you printed, so print it again or leave the price off it.
Does it work outside art fairs?
Yes. It works anywhere people see your work in person: exhibitions, open studios, gallery shows, pop-ups, markets and cafés.
Can I use it for more than one show?
Yes. Your codes keep working from show to show, and you can tag each one with where it hangs. Free includes 10 QR codes, Plus 50 and Pro as many as you need; pricing has the details.
If you also show your work online between fairs, our earlier post on online art booths looks at virtual shows.
Ready for your next show? Print a label for each piece and see what visitors scan. Canvy is free to start.
