A: Hi Clearstar,

Thank you for the question.

The reason for the 2-step process is as follows.
Hololink serves webAR as opposed to AR through an app as the major friction point for most users when it comes to AR experiences is actually downloading the app. With AR campaigns, having a single app for many campaigns and brands is simply not feasible. Therefore you should see the scanning of the QR code as the equivalent of downloading and installing the app. In this case, scanning the QR code is the faster and more frictionless option.
The next step, which is scanning the target image is the same for both app based AR and webAR when working with image based AR.
This has been widely researched and written about. For example in this excellent post: https://www.marketingdive.com/spons/5-reasons-webar-should-be-part-of-your-marketing-plan/593655/

For the first part of your question, we use the 2-step approach because most users want the image target to be a context-specific image. You are free to use the QR code as your image target by copying it and adding it to your project in the preview modal if this is the way you want to go. And we actually have some examples of users who have done this, but there aren't a lot.

Regarding using a custom image as a QR code, this would need an app that specifically encoded a chosen image, as adding binary information to any image is difficult to do. This is why we have gone with the worldwide standard that QR codes deliver. And QR codes can be customised as you probably know, so that they appear more interesting than the standard black and white type, like the examples here: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ce/90/04/ce9004f16b99aec9b1bcacc2559c9b1b.jpg

I hope I answered your question in a good way. Have a nice day.

Regards

Jens