Why cards get a code

A business card has about ten seconds of attention and roughly nine square centimetres of usable space. Most cards waste both by cramming in a phone number, an email address, two social handles and a website that nobody will retype. A QR code turns that clutter into one action. The person scans, and whatever you want them to have, they have: your contact file, your portfolio, your booking calendar or your price list.

Design that survives printing

Put the code on the back, in a corner, with a clear margin around it. Do not print it over a photograph, a gradient or a dark brand color with low contrast, because scanning in a dim restaurant is nothing like scanning under your desk lamp. Keep the code darker than its background, never the other way round on cheap stock, and always order a single test card before the full run. If your printer asks for vector artwork, download the SVG so the edges stay crisp at any size.

Static versus dynamic on paper

Paper is permanent, which is exactly the problem. A static code locks the destination into the ink, so a new website, a new role or a new company kills every card you handed out. A dynamic myqrpal code points at a short link you own, so you can redirect old cards to a new site, a maternity-cover colleague or an updated portfolio at any point.

You also get a number that no paper card can give you: how many people actually scanned, when, and from which country. That is the difference between believing a networking event was worth it and knowing it.