Decoding the barcode: A visual representation of barcode data

The barcode is universally recognised as a storage unit, of sorts, for product information. But German student Daniel A. Becker believes there is much more potential in those familiar black bars, and has developed the Barcode Plantage programme to render barcode data in an innovative, visually interesting way. This method of displaying data appeals to our brain’s right side and enhances the intuition of deciphering such numerical information.

Becker’s programme processes the numerical coding used on a barcode by using the Bezier parametric curve to display the information in graphical form. Different data, such as an item’s price and country of origin, transform into coloured graphical structures, adding life and a new perspective to a formerly linear pattern. This sort of visual data representation is critical for the growing numbers of women now dominating web usage, as we explore in the Female Web.