A QR Code Crossword Puzzle

Finally, somebody has thought of making a quick response code that doubles as a crossword puzzle! We can’t tell exactly how long we’ve been waiting for that, but it’s really right at the back of our heads.

Well, a QR code that also functions as a crossword is not very surprising, considering that these two-dimensional matrix barcodes are made up of black and white blocks, which are basically the same things that make up a crossword puzzle. But if you have seen a plain QR code, the task of making a crossword puzzle out of it would really seem very hard and complicated.

So we can only applaud filmmaker Christian Svanes Kolding for successfully creating a QR code/crossword puzzle.

Svanes Kolding created his QR code/crossword puzzle in time for MoMA’s Talk to Me exhibit, where his film “The Things We Keep” is one of the pieces being showcased.

The Talk to Me exhibit showcases works that explore the communication between humans and material objects. All the objects contain information found well beyond their appearances, and people can access this information well beyond the objects’ immediate use. Every piece highlighted at the exhibit has an accompanying QR code. Using their mobile phones, visitors can scan these codes and learn more about the piece.

Svanes Kolding wanted to make the QR code for his film unique and special, so he decided to create a crossword out of it.

He says that the puzzle format of his QR code allowed him to highlight certain points of interest covered in his film. Doing this also allowed him to create a great commemorative souvenir about his film, whose story is also about souvenirs.

Svanes Kolding admits that filling out the crossword according to the nature of the code was a labor-intensive process. According to him, it was challenging enough to find three- and two-letter words that fit together, but it was even more challenging to keep the words to a particular theme.

You can download Svanes Kolding’s QR code/crossword puzzle from his site — www.christiansvaneskolding.com/things_we_keep_crossword.html — then print and solve it. You can also scan the QR code and get to watch his film, The Things We Keep.