2D machine readable symbologies are stylized and made aesthetically-appealing, facilitating their use to convey plural-symbol data on product packaging and other articles. In some arrangements, a symbology is mimicked as a collage of excerpts from a style image (e.g., a photograph or other artwork). To human viewers, the stylized symbology resembles the style image, rather than the 2D symbology. A great variety of other features and arrangements are also detailed.