Wikipedia says it has found the ‘sound of all human knowledge’ with new audio logo

We don't always think about it, but sound can be as important to identifying a brand as any graphical logo. Netflix's ‘ta-dum' instantly brings the streaming service's logo to mind. Apple's startup chime feels like a warm greeting from your computer. Now, Wikipedia has an iconic audio mark of its own: a fluttering of book pages, keyboard clicks and synthesize tones it calls “The Sound of All Human Knowledge. "

In true Wikipedia fashion, the four second audio clip was sourced from the community. The Wikimedia Foundation hosted a contest to find an audio logo for “projects when visual logos are not an option.” Over 3,000 submissions later, they landed on a series of warm, happy notes preceded by book and keyboard noises, created by Thaddeus Osborne.

Osborne, a Nuclear Scientist by day, will be awarded $2,500 for creating the winning sound. Wikimedia will also be flying him to a professional recording studio to help produce a finalized version of the audio logo. The foundation says it hopes to have the final sound ready to use by June of this year.