Wikimedia, the free knowledge movement behind Wikipedia asked the world to describe the sum of all human information. When visual logos are not possible , a sound logo will be used to represent all of our projects. A sound that represents what our projects stand behind — trustworthiness, reliability, openness, and knowledge for all.
The contest to find the sound logo for was open worldwide and opened in September 2022. It received more than 3,000 entries from 135 countries. The 10 finalists were selected by Wikimedians who could vote — and more than 2,000 did!
Thaddeus Osborne is a Virginia-based nuclear engineer and music producer. His winning entry combined keyboard clicks with a synthesizer sound to represent the vast amount of knowledge people can access through Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. We have now identified the winner but are still working on finalizing the audio and professionally recording it. The final sound logo should be available by June 2023.
The Wikimedia Foundation decided it was time for a “sound logo” to be adopted for Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects. It’s Wikipedia’s equivalent to the Netflix “tadum”, the HBO “aaaaaaaaaah” or Intel’s iconic five note chime. Wikimedia believes it has found an audio clip that represents its mission after an extensive search through contest.
Thaddeus Osborne from Virginia, USA submitted the winning entry. He is a nuclear engineer and part time music producer. Here is how he described the sound:
Listen to the whole thing.
Osborne’s submission was one of the 3,235 submitted by 2,094 people from 135 countries. These submissions were whittled down by Wikimedia community members, and 10 audio clips were submitted for a vote.
The winning sound has been selected, but the audio you hear above is not what you will hear in the future alongside Wikimedia content. The winning sound must be professionally re-recorded at a studio. Osborne will also receive $2,500 in prize money. It’ll also produce
