This object is currently on display in room 107 as part of Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols. There is one other image of this object. See our image rights statement.

 

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2011

  • Work on this object began.

2022

2023

2025

  • You found it!

Reproduction, Selection of QR Hobo Codes

This is a Reproduction. It was designed by Golan Levin and Asa Foster III and produced by F.A.T. Labs. It is dated 2011. Its medium is digital. It is a part of the department.


Symbols have kept up with technology to mark public spaces with the use of the QR code. F.A.T. Lab’s QR Hobo Code project created a free, open-source, fully automated software utility that converted 100 QR codes into patterns for laser-cut stencils. Anyone can use these stencils to transfer their chosen QR code to a surface. When read with a smartphone, the codes lead to short phrases with key messages including Beware Pickpockets or Free Doctor.

It is credited File in public domain / Courtesy of F.A.T. Lab; Graphic design by Studio Matthews.

Its dimensions are

variable

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318807707/ |title=Reproduction, Selection of QR Hobo Codes |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 March 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>