Funky bar codes: a ‘game-changing’ idea?

Bar codes are suddenly hot, thanks to Design Barcode Inc. of Tokyo, whose idea to jazz up package design with bar-code makeovers won the Titanium award at the Cannes ad festival last week. Check out examples of Design Barcode’s work here. Leaving aside the fact that people have mucked around with bar codes before, the notion that this idea will enhance humanity or change the world, as Titanium jury president David Lubars suggested at the award show Saturday night, seems like excessive praise.