The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that supports Wikipedia, has launched 'The Sound of All Human Knowledge,' a global contest to find the first sound logo for Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects in collaboration with Wikimedia volunteers.
Sound logos, also known as sound trademarks or sonic logos, leverage a short collection of sounds to represent a brand in audiovisual and audio-only settings. Sound logos have gained popularity alongside the rise of audio technology globally, with the number of active voice assistant users growing from 544.1 million users in 2015 to 2.6 billion users in 2021.
"As people encounter knowledge from Wikimedia projects in new ways, the Wikimedia brand needs to be present in new formats," said Zack McCune, Director of Brand at the Wikimedia Foundation. "The sound logo contest asks participants to consider, what does free knowledge sound like? We built a contest that aims to answer that question while reflecting the collective wisdom of the crowd ethos of the Wikimedia projects and movement."
Contest submissions will be reviewed by a selection committee of seven Wikimedia volunteer contributors alongside five sound experts and a musicologist assembled by MassiveMusic. The committee will combine their expertise to narrow down submissions to ten sounds that can be easily recalled, adopted across audio settings, and reflect the Wikimedia movement's values. These ten sounds will then be open for voting to select the final winning sound beginning November 29.
The deadline for submissions is October 10, 2022.
Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia Foundation
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