Error 404 Wall Cannot Be Found: Smart Advertising

How’s this for crafty: a British graphic designer took a familiar screen from Internet Explorer and turned it into a wall print advertisement.

error 404 wall not found

Hmmm, is it just me or does that wall print look familiar? Wait a second, you usually see that annoying screen when your trying to browse the internet, not go shopping down the street.

According to our source, Neatorama, this a graphic designer named John Scarratt from Norwich, England, found a clever way to not cover up the wall from an empty storefront and advertise at the same time.

That iconic, and annoying, 404 error screen from Windows Internet Explorer is something that we’ve all seen more than our fair share of. Maybe it’s one of the reasons most of us geeky-types have switched our PC net browsing over to Chrome or Firefox. Either way, everyone recognizes that screen, and I’m guessing more than a few people had to stop and take a second look when they caught sight on this down the block from their office. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if half the people didn’t even notice, since most of us are way too plugged in to begin with.

For those of you who are curious about what the wall is advertising, shopartnorwich is an art project that seeks to place art in unused shop windows in the Norwich City Centre. The project is currently publicly funded and has been in effect since October 2010. It’s supposed to stay in effect until March of this year.

From what we can tell, most of the art pieces were provided by local artists, so it looks like a great way for new comers to get some exposure. The project doesn’t only include painting and posters, it also has some neat set pieces and scenes. It’s definitely a neat project, and I certainly wouldn’t mind it if my city took up an awesome and artsy initiative like this one. Here’s to go Norwich for supporting some of it’s local talent!

In other art related news, check out how Van Gogh’s Starry Night Turns into an Interactive Light Show and First IBM PC Game Ever Comes as an iOS App.