As a programmer, I also think they are quite ugly. Unfortunately their ugliness is pretty much baked in as it is what makes them work effectively (annoyingly

As a programmer, I also think they are quite ugly. Unfortunately their ugliness is pretty much baked in as it is what makes them work effectively (annoyingly high contrast, unbalanced, etc.) Yes, I do realize there are QR Code "hacks" where the codes are colored and/or integrated with logos, etc to look less ugly and those hacks do look good (or at least less bad) on a web page, but they destroy usability of the codes in the real world (by removing data redundancy, killing the contrast to the point where devices with cameras with low dynamic range won't scan it well, etc). I don't mind so much the other issues, I like that they can be used flexibly for just about anything from encoding a url for marketing to doing internal inventory management.