Far view two-dimensional symbology

To encode information into a two-dimensional (2D) symbol, a palette is selected to represent data in the 2D symbol, the palette including a set of shape fillers. A Base number system is selected according to the palette. A rule is selected, where the rule determines a manner of reading an encoded form of the data from the 2D symbol. The rule and the data are encoded as a set of shapes, where the shapes in the set of shapes are configured using the palette and arranged into a grid pattern, with or without visible grid lines, to form the 2D symbol. The 2D symbol is output in a size that matches an area.