Wikipedia:Logos and slogans

Table of contents 1 Slogans 2 Logos 2.1 Prehistoric (non)logo 2.2 The original official logo 2.3 The current logo 2.4 The late-comer 3 See also

Slogans

The closest thing to an official Wikipedia slogan is "The Free Encyclopedia". This slogan has been translated into different languages:

• Dutch: De vrije encyclopedie
• Esperanto: La Libera Enciklopedio
• French: L'encyclopédie libre
• German: die freie Enzyklopädie
• Polish: Wolna encyklopedia
• Spanish: La Enciclopedia Libre (note that Enciclopedia Libre is also the name of a forked-off project)
• Japanese: フリー百科事典
• Chinese：自由的百科全书
• Hebrew: האנציקלופדיה החופשית

Others suggested slogans are:

• Knowledge Shared
• Out of mediocrity, excellence!

See also m:Wikipedia Motto

Logos

Prehistoric (non)logo

In its first day of existence (January 15, 2001), Jimbo Wales used the American flag as a temporary Wikipedia logo. It wasn't intended to be permanent. See meta:OldWikiPediaLogo for the old logo discussion.

The original official logo

This was Wikipedia's first true logo. It was an image that was originally submitted as a Nupedia logo. Jimbo thought it would be a much better logo than the flag, and it remained for the next eight months.

The current logo

In November 2001, Wikipedians began suggesting new logos (http://meta.wikipedia.com/wiki.phtml?title=Logo_suggestions). A shortlist of leading candidates (http://meta.wikipedia.com/wiki.phtml?title=Logo+suggestions%2Fleading+candidates) was chosen. The winner was the logo contributed by The Cunctator.

The quotation:

Man is distinguished, not only by his reason, but by this singular passion from other animals, which is a lust of the mind, that by a perseverance of delight in the continued and indefatigable generation of knowledge, exceeds the short vehemence of any carnal pleasure.

Taken from Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, Part I, Chapter VI (http://www.orst.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/hobbes/leviathan-a#CHAPTER%20VI):

Desire to know why, and how, curiosity; such as is in no living creature but man: so that man is distinguished, not only by his reason, but also by this singular passion from other animals; in whom the appetite of food, and other pleasures of sense, by predominance, take away the care of knowing causes; which is a lust of the mind, that by a perseverance of delight in the continual and indefatigable generation of knowledge, exceedeth the short vehemence of any carnal pleasure.

The late-comer

After the winning logo was chosen, Mark Ryan designed one in a similiar style, but in colour. It is now used as the Meta-Wikipedia logo:

See also

• Wikipedia:Banners and buttons for other Wikipedia graphics