Story
Established in 2003, the Wikimedia Foundation, best known for hosting Wikipedia — the free online encyclopedia — is the non-profit organization that provides essential infrastructure for free knowledge.
Challenge
Wikipedia is the 7th most visited website in the world and has a distinct visual language, yet the Wikimedia Foundation, lesser known and often confused with Wikipedia, lacks similar recognition. The Foundation's core brand assets — the logo by Neolux, typography and color palette by Mule Design and illustrations by Karabo Poppy Moletsane and Jasmina El Bouamraoui — are strong, the challenge lies in the brand's current application and expression which is fragmented and lacks cohesion.
Outcome
Leveraging existing elements, the brand is refreshed with a more youthful and vibrant look-and-fell. Adopting a systematic and holistic approach, the focus of the refresh is on improved brand cohesion and consistency with the ultimate goal of increasing awareness, impact and recognition.
Client
Category
Wikimedia Foundation
Brand Refresh
My Role
Creative Director, Brand Designer
My Contribution
Website
The Foundation's website is the organization's "front door" and should be instantly recognizable. Using existing content, the homepage is refreshed with more color, illustrations and imagery to maximize visual impact. Taking a systematic approach, the landing page is designed as a template that can be applied to other Wikimedia initiatives such as Wikimedia Enterprise and the Wikipedia store. The goal is to establish a stronger visual connection between various Foundation projects for better brand cohesion and consistency.
Wikimedia has access to a vast repository of images through Wikimedia Commons and the various photo competitions it runs. These stunning images should be incorporated into the brand's toolkit. The style of the images used should be authentic and thought-provoking, encouraging closer examination. The images should be high-quality with strong contrasts that are sharp and clear, spanning diverse subjects from people to culture, nature to landscapes.
After an audit of existing assets, I redesigned a selection of them to align them more closely with the brand refresh. This included the use of bolder colors, establishing a consistent illustration style and simplifying layouts.
More projects