If you are running client campaigns with customised QR codes in them, you will want to make sure they scan every time. Not just on your graphic designer's iPhone after she wiggles it in the air for 15 seconds whilst muttering a prayer! Each scan could ultimately be a sale. Or a sale lost. So why do her beautiful creations not always scan?
Putting aside mobile platform and chosen app, a fast scan requires visual clarity and simplicity of the QR code. 
The bare black and white code including the quiet zone border is (technically) the fastest, whilst however being undeniable aesthetically unsatisfactory.
Bare QR codes (unadulterated by you-know-who) do scan quickly but do not get scanned nearly as much as customised codes. TIP: see the infographic at the bottom of this post.
Dense codes contain more data than simple codes. A 24-character URL generates a less dense QR code than a 200-character URL. Both should work OK, but one is harder to scan and decode on smartphone apps. Density is measured in blocks across and down, like pixels in a high or low res image. Less dense codes have several advantages:
So the bar code is often altered to please the brand warriors, ending up beautifully textured, carrying a logo and placed in a visually complex environment. Looks great but doesn't always scan well. To help your graphic designer you need to start with a simple bare code.
The content length is directly related to the code's density. If you want your landing page to be a long URL, you will generate a dense code. However, by using a tracking service you will always get a simple code, fast to scan and decode, regardless of the actual landing page URL.
Your landing page is actually the second URL used when your customer scans your tracked code. The first (and easiest) URL used is the short code provided invisibly by the tracking service, ie: http://fqrct.com/t/42a25ff. This short code immediately sends the customer to your landing page http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/proximity-marketing/marketing-qr-codes/ and a tracking stat into your account:
It doesn't always mean bare codes can't work well. Festival fans reached out and made friends with complete strangers by wearing personal (bare) QR Codes at Heineken's Open'er Music Festival in 2011. See how it went on YouTube.
That infographic I promised you: this is the juicy bit where 90% said they would scan more codes if they were customised, but see the bare vs custom code infographic
SUMMARY: customized QR codes get far better scan rates than bare black and whites. BUT be sure to use a free QR tracking service with a short code so you keep the bare code nice and simple for your graphic designer to work with. She will thank you and so will your clients. Oh yes - and you also see how many scans you get.
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