Customise your QR codes: colours, shapes, templates and logo

You can change how your QR codes look: their colours on all plans and, with a Pro or Entreprise subscription, the shape of the modules and corners, as well as saved style templates. Customisation only changes the image: the encoded address and the redirect stay the same.

Test before printing. The app's rules reduce the risk of an unreadable QR code without removing it. Scanning also depends on print size, material, ink, lighting and the phone, which we do not control. It is up to you to check the readability of a QR code whose colours, shapes or logo you have chosen (terms and conditions, §16.2): before any printing, especially in large quantities or on a long-lasting material, scan it with several phones, at the intended size and on the intended material.

What is available on your plan

Choose the colours

1. Open a QR code's editor, when creating it or from its page.
2. In the Style section, under Colours, choose the module colour (the small dark squares) and the background colour, with the picker or by entering a hex code, for example #1F3A5F.
3. The preview updates. The contrast indicator shows the result of the rules below.
4. Click Save.

If you entered the two colours the wrong way round, the Swap the two colours button swaps them.

Contrast rules

Contrast is measured as for text accessibility (luminance ratio of the two colours, from 1:1 to 21:1; black on white = 21:1). The gauge shows 4.5 as the minimum and 7 as recommended.

Example: grey modules #767676 on a white background are accepted with the Test first badge; #777777, barely lighter, is refused.

The 4-module margin around the QR code is always kept, in the background colour. In your layout, also leave clear space around the QR code, and avoid placing it on a photo or a pattern.

Choose the shapes (Pro and Entreprise)

In the Style section, you have two choices, each with a thumbnail:

• Module shape: Squares, Rounded or Dots;
• Corner shape (the three large square markers): Squares, Rounded or Round centre.

The three corner markers are always drawn in full, and each shape covers most of its cell: these two rules are meant to protect scanning. Test your QR code.

On the Free plan, shapes are shown as a preview, on an example, but cannot be applied. If a QR code has saved shapes and your account moves back to the Free plan, a message warns you before downloading: the image is produced without these shapes.

The “Your colours” palette (Pro and Entreprise)

Save up to 12 of your brand colours, with an optional name, using the Add to your colours button. The palette is shared by the whole account: it is offered in the colour choice of every QR code and every template.

• Pro: any member who can manage QR codes adds a colour; a colour is renamed or removed by the member who added it or by an administrator.
• Entreprise: the palette is managed by members with the Manager of style templates permission (or Administrator). Other members use it.

On the Free plan, the palette is not shown; it is kept and reappears with a Pro or Entreprise subscription.

Style templates (Pro and Entreprise)

A style template brings colours and shapes together under a name (60 characters at most, unique in the account). Templates are managed on the Style templates screen: up to 10 with Pro, 100 with Entreprise. Once the limit is reached, you cannot create new ones, but your templates remain usable and editable.

Create a template

• from the Style templates screen, from scratch;
• or from a QR code's page, with Save this style as a template.

Who can create and edit templates

• Pro: any member who can manage QR codes creates templates. A template is edited or deleted by its author or by an administrator. The default template is set by an administrator.
• Entreprise: templates and the default template are managed by members with the Manager of style templates permission (or Administrator). See Manage users.

Apply a template to a QR code

In the QR code's editor, choose the template in the Template list, then save. The first option, No style (black on white), returns to the standard rendering. The template's style is copied onto the QR code. If you then change a colour or shape of this QR code by hand, it is no longer linked to the template: it now has a custom style.

Edit a template

When you save an edited template, the Also apply to the # QR codes that use this template box (# = their number) offers to update them. It is unticked each time it opens:

• box unticked: existing QR codes keep their style; only QR codes you apply the template to later get the new style;
• box ticked: the QR codes that use the template and that you are allowed to edit are updated; the others keep their style.

Images already downloaded or printed do not change. Download them again to get the new style.

Delete a template

The QR codes that used it keep their style; they now show as Custom style. If it was the default template, no template is applied automatically any more.

The default template

The template set as default is preselected for every QR code created in the dashboard. When creating a QR code, you can choose another one.

Apply a template to several QR codes

1. In the Your QR codes list, select up to 100 QR codes (see Bulk actions and exports).
2. Click Apply a template, choose the template, then confirm.
3. A message shows how many QR codes were updated, how many already had this style and how many could not be updated because you no longer have access to them.

The list's Style filter shows the QR codes that use a template, those with a Custom style and those with no style.

Require templates for your team (Entreprise)

On the Style templates screen, the Require team members to use the templates switch is reserved for members with the Manager of style templates permission (or Administrator). It can only be turned on if the account has at least one template. The screen shows how many QR codes use no template.

Once the option is on:

• other members choose the style of their QR codes from your templates, without being able to set colours and shapes themselves, including for QR codes created via the API;
• administrators and members with the Manager of style templates permission keep a free style;
• when creating a QR code, the default template is preselected; without a default template, the first template in alphabetical order;
• existing QR codes do not change on their own. To bring them into line, filter the list by Style, then apply a template to them (see above).

Add a logo (Entreprise)

With the Entreprise plan, you can place a logo in the centre of your QR codes. Logos are managed in the Logos section of the Style templates screen, by members with the Manager of style templates permission (or Administrator).

Accept the rules for logos

When a logo is uploaded for the first time, a checkbox asks you to accept, on behalf of the account holder, the rules for logos. This acceptance applies once for the whole account; it is recorded with its date, the version of the terms and the member who gave it. Other members no longer see it.

Upload a logo

1. In the Logos section, choose the file: PNG or JPEG, 1 MB at most, 64 to 4000 pixels per side, no more than 4 times wider than high (or the reverse).
2. On the account's first upload, tick the acceptance box.
3. Click Add the logo.

The logo takes the name of its file; you can change it afterwards with Rename. QR Suisse converts the file into a reduced PNG image, without metadata (location, device, author, date). The original file is not kept: keep it on your side. An account can store up to 50 logos. Uploading an identical file again does not create a duplicate.

Upload your organisation's logo. Do not upload a handwritten signature, or a photo of a person without their consent. Do not use another organisation's brand or logo, public coats of arms or a protected emblem without permission: these uses are prohibited by the terms and conditions.

Place the logo on a QR code

In the editor of a template or a QR code, under Logo in the centre, choose the logo, then its size: Small, Medium or Large. The logo is centred, on an area in the background colour, and the modules it covers are not drawn. To limit the risk of an unreadable QR code:

• the logo and its margin take up at most 25% of the QR code's side, even in Large size;
• as soon as a logo is present, the error correction level automatically switches to H, the highest: this level allows a partly hidden QR code to be read, within limits;
• the three corner markers are never covered.

The larger the logo, the smaller the safety margin. Test a QR code with a logo with particular care, at the intended size and on the intended material. Via the API, the PNG image of a QR code with a logo must be requested at 256 pixels at least.

Your logo is only shown to the account's members. It does not appear on any page seen by people scanning, except in the image you print or share yourself.

Delete a logo

Members with the Manager of style templates permission (or Administrator) can delete a logo at any time, whatever the plan, even if it is in use. A confirmation shows how many templates and QR codes use it. The logo is removed from these templates and QR codes, which keep the rest of their style, then it is deleted. It remains in our backup copies until they are replaced (see the privacy policy). Deletion has no effect on images already downloaded or on material already printed.

A logo “Disabled by QR Suisse”

In the event of a breach of the terms and conditions or a credible report, for example an infringement of a trademark or copyright, QR Suisse can disable a logo. The logo is then marked Disabled by QR Suisse in the Logos section. No email is sent: check your list of logos.

• The logo no longer appears on images produced afterwards; the QR codes and templates that use it keep the rest of their style.
• Your QR codes' redirects and your plan do not change.
• As long as the logo is in your library, you cannot re-enable it, choose it or upload the same file again. You can delete it.

To find out why it was disabled or to dispute it, write to contact@qrsuisse.ch. The logo is re-enabled if the report proves unfounded or the problem is resolved.

If your plan changes

Nothing is deleted: your templates, your palette and your QR codes' settings are kept as long as your account exists.

• Leaving the Entreprise plan (to Pro, or end of the subscription): the logo no longer appears on images, and a message warns you before downloading. Your logos remain visible, marked Inactive with your current plan, and members with the Manager of style templates permission (or Administrator) can delete them; nobody can upload, rename or choose them any more. If you return to the Entreprise plan, they apply again, except those that were deleted and those QR Suisse has disabled.
• From Entreprise to Pro: templates are no longer required. They remain usable and editable. If you have more than 10, you cannot create a new one until you are back under this limit.
• End of a paid subscription: only colours remain applied to images. Your shapes, templates, default template and palette are kept but no longer accessible. A message warns you before each affected download.
• New subscription: your kept settings apply again automatically.

Images already downloaded do not change, and your QR codes already printed keep redirecting normally: the redirect does not depend on the appearance.

Download, export and API

• The style applies to PNG and SVG downloads and to the bulk actions' ZIP file. Each image in the ZIP has the style of its QR code.
• With the Pro and Entreprise plans, which include API access, the image obtained via the API also uses the style saved on the QR code. Since API version 1.2, you can specify a style template when creating or editing a QR code, and list the account's templates. Without a template, a newly created QR code gets the account's default template. See the API documentation.
• The CSV export contains a Template column: the name of the template used, empty for a QR code without a template.
• Your templates' names never appear in the image or to the person scanning.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my colour refused?

Because the contrast with the background is below 4.5:1, or because the modules are lighter than the background. Choose darker modules or a lighter background. If you swapped the two colours, use Swap the two colours.

Is a colour QR code harder to scan?

With sufficient contrast, it scans in most cases. The lower the contrast, the more scanning depends on lighting, ink and the phone. Test before printing, at the intended size and on the intended material.

Can I use light modules on a dark background?

No. Many QR code readers cannot scan an inverted QR code: the app refuses it.

Does editing a template change my QR codes already printed?

No. Printed material keeps the printed image. A QR code's style only changes in the app if you tick Also apply to the # QR codes that use this template; then download the image again.

Does the style change my QR code's destination?

No. The style only changes the image. The encoded address and the redirect stay the same.

What happens to my templates if I go back to the Free plan?

They are kept as long as your account exists, but are no longer accessible, and only colours remain applied. They apply again as soon as you take out a Pro or Entreprise subscription.

Does a logo make the QR code harder to scan?

It hides part of the modules: that is why the app switches to error correction H and limits the logo and its margin to 25% of the QR code's side. A QR code with a logo scans in most cases, but its safety margin is smaller. Test it before printing, especially in Large size.

Why does my logo no longer appear?

Either your account is no longer on the Entreprise plan (marked Inactive with your current plan), or QR Suisse has disabled the logo (marked Disabled by QR Suisse), or it has been deleted. Check the Logos section.

Can I use a client's or partner's logo?

Only with their permission for this use. The account holder guarantees that they hold the rights to each logo uploaded to the account.

Why is the acceptance box no longer shown?

Because a member of the account has already accepted: it applies to the whole account.

Can I stop my team from changing colours?

Yes, with the Entreprise plan: turn on Require team members to use the templates. Members then choose one of your templates.

See also

• Create a QR code
• Bulk actions and exports
• Manage users
• Manage your subscription