Why a GIF?
GIFs play on their own almost everywhere: in email newsletters, Slack and WhatsApp, slide decks and most in-store screens. There is no play button and no sound, so the animation runs as soon as someone sees it.
How it works
The scene is built from small cubes, and every cube stands on a dark square of your QR code. From the side you see the picture. From straight above, the cubes line up with the code, so the top view is a normal QR code. The GIF records the camera moving between those two views, then holds the top view for the time you choose.
GIF is an old format with a limit of 256 colours per frame. The dark-on-light code is unaffected by this, and bold, flat colours look clean. Soft shading, smoke and gradients can show slight banding, which is normal for GIFs and doesn’t affect scanning.
Keeping the file small
- 480 px is enough for email and chat. Use 640 or 800 px for screens.
- Pausing on the picture (instead of turning around it) and turning off birds or confetti makes a smaller file.
- Shorter turns mean fewer frames.
Where to use it
- Email newsletters: add the GIF as an image, like any picture. Some versions of Outlook for Windows show only the first frame of a GIF, so put the link in the email text as well.
- Slides: PowerPoint, Google Slides and Keynote play GIFs during a presentation. Give the code at least a quarter of the slide so people at the back can scan it.
- Chats: WhatsApp, Slack, Discord and Telegram all accept GIF files.
- Websites: use it like any image. Add alt text that says where the code goes, and a normal link beside it for people who are already on their phone.
- Screens in a shop or at an event: most digital signage players loop GIFs.
Make sure people can scan it
Set Time on each view to 3 to 5 seconds so people have time to raise their phone. Keep the background light, use a short link, and test the downloaded GIF with your phone before you send it. For anything printed, use the flat PNG: QR download instead.