How to add a logo to a QR code without breaking it
A QR code with your logo in the middle looks like a brand asset instead of a black-and-white stamp. It also looks like it should not work, because you have covered part of the pattern. Yet it usually scans fine. The reason is a feature built into every QR code, and knowing it tells you exactly how far you can push.
Push too far and the code fails in the one place you cannot test: a customer's phone, in poor light, at the wrong angle.
Why a covered code still scans
QR codes carry error correction: extra data that lets a scanner rebuild missing or damaged parts. There are four levels, called L, M, Q and H, which can recover roughly 7%, 15%, 25% and 30% of the code.
A logo hides part of the pattern, and error correction fills the gap. The higher the level, the more you can cover, at the cost of a denser code with smaller squares.
Use the highest level, and keep the logo small
If you add a logo, choose the highest error-correction level. Tapqode does this automatically when you upload a logo in the Design tab, so you do not have to pick.
Then keep the logo modest. Treat the 30% limit as a ceiling you never approach: as a sensible rule of thumb, keep the logo no wider than about a fifth of the code, which leaves room for scuffs, folds and a slightly out-of-focus camera. Never cover the three large corner squares, which scanners use to find the code.
Contrast matters more than colour
Scanners read the difference between dark and light squares, so contrast matters more than brand colour. Use a dark foreground on a light background, and avoid pale or low-contrast colours such as yellow on white.
Inverted codes, with light squares on a dark background, fail on some scanner apps, so use them only if you have tested them. Custom dot and corner styles look great but add risk; test any style before you commit to it.
Size and the quiet zone
A code needs blank space around it, called the quiet zone, roughly four squares wide on every side. Do not crop it, and do not let a border, a photo or other text crowd it.
Print it big enough to scan from the distance people will actually stand: a few centimetres across for something handheld such as a card or a label, much larger for a poster or a window. A bigger logo needs a bigger code.
Test the way customers will
Scan the final print, not just the screen preview, with at least two phones, one of them old and cheap, in dim light and at a slight angle. If any scan hesitates, make the logo smaller or the code bigger.
Download an SVG for print so edges stay sharp, and a PNG for screens. Tapqode gives you both, with no sign-up needed to download.
Frequently asked questions
Can any QR code have a logo?
Technically yes, but only if error correction is high enough to cover the area the logo hides. Generators like Tapqode raise it automatically when you add a logo.
How big can the logo be?
The highest error-correction level can recover about 30% of a code, but treat that as the absolute limit. A logo no wider than about a fifth of the code is a sensible rule of thumb.
Will a logo make the QR code harder to scan?
Slightly, because it removes part of the pattern, but a small logo on a high error-correction code scans reliably on modern phones. Always test the printed result.
Should I use my brand colours?
Yes, as long as the dark squares are clearly darker than the background. Contrast is what scanners read, not the colour itself.
Does a logo work with dynamic QR codes?
Yes. A dynamic code stores a short link, which makes the pattern simpler, so a logo tends to fit more comfortably.
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