Snøhetta to renew Visual Identity for Wikipedia and Wikimedia

The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that operates Wikipedia, has partnered with Snøhetta to create a new visual identity for its global organization.

The collaboration will explore how strategic branding and digital design can influence engagement and promote cross-cultural knowledge sharing.

Since 2001, the Wikimedia Foundation’s open source platform Wikipedia has grown into the internet’s public encyclopedia. The content is accessed by more than 1.5 billion unique devices each month, making Wikipedia one of the world’s most popular sites. Articles are constantly added and updated by more than 250,000 volunteers around the world.

As a collaborative knowledge platform that anyone can edit, Wikipedia today has more than 50 million articles – all free to read, use, and modify – available in roughly 300 languages. As a non-profit organization, the Wikimedia Foundation is committed to developing and maintaining open source knowledge – wikis – that are available for free to everyone.

The Wikimedia Foundation's aim is to create a brand identity system that supports to further anchor its position as an essential component in offering free knowledge, “setting knowledge free”, in the digital era.

The process will be documented and shared through a community-wide brand network that can be followed at http://brandingwikipedia.org

“Snøhetta has a long-standing commitment to developing socially sustainable design solutions that promote a sense of collective ownership and engagement with civic life. We chose Snøhetta as our strategic design partner for their demonstrated ability to develop strong, visual brand identities that transcend geographical boarders and bring people together. Snøhetta’s commitment to working creatively, openly, and together was the perfect fit for the project, and we’re thrilled to be working with them”, states Heather Walls, Chief Creative Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation.

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More information

Craig Dykers, Kjetil Thorsen. Snøhetta

Snøhetta is an integrated architecture, landscape, and interior design company based in Oslo, Norway, and New York City, formed in 1989 and led by principals Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen. The firm, founded in 1989, which is named after one of Norway's highest mountain peaks, has approximately 100 staff members working on projects around the world. The practice pursues a collaborative, transdisciplinary approach, with people from multiple professions working together to explore diverse perspectives on each project.

Snøhetta has completed several critically acclaimed cultural projects, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt; the National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, Norway; and the Lillehammer Art Museum in Norway. Current projects include the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center site in New York.

In 2004 Snøhetta received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and in 2009 the firm was honored with the Mies van der Rohe Award. Snøhetta is the only company to have twice won the World Architecture Award for best cultural building, in 2002 for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and in 2008 for the National Opera and Ballet in Oslo.

Kjetil Trædal Thorsen (above left) is a multi-award-winning co-founder of the architectural and design firm Snøhetta. He is a visionary architect who has redefined the boundaries of contemporary design. Under his leadership, Snøhetta has created iconic structures that blend cutting-edge innovation with a deep sensitivity to culture and environment. Thorsen’s work is celebrated for its emphasis on social interaction, sustainability, and creating spaces that inspire and connect people. His groundbreaking approach has made him a leading figure in global architecture, shaping the future of how we experience the built environment.

Craig Dykers (above right)co-founded the architecture, landscape, and interior design company of Snøhetta, and he is Principal of the New York City office of the Norwegian-based firm. Snøhetta has developed a reputation for maintaining a strong relationship between landscape and architecture in all of its projects. His major projects include the design of Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, the recently opened National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the former World Trade Center site and the redesign of Times Square in New York. Active professionally and academically, Craig has been a member of the Norwegian Architecture Association (NAL), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in England. He has been the Diploma Adjudicator at the Architectural College in Oslo and has been a Distinguished Professor at City College in New York City. He has lectured extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In addition, Dykers has been commissioned to complete installation art projects in public spaces, many of which focused on the notion of context, nature and human nature.

Published on: January 19, 2020

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metalocus, ANA DIOSDADO

"Snøhetta to renew Visual Identity for Wikipedia and Wikimedia" METALOCUS. Accessed

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