WikiLeaks logo designer

The WikiLeaks hourglass, a “tale of two worlds,” is a deeply mysterious icon. Metahaven’s search for the logo’s designer lead to an artist by the name of Aśka.

She replied to an initial email:
Well, I must say it’s quite a surprise to hear from anyone regarding the logo. Thanks for your interest and the leads—it’s curious to see what people have written about it. […]
I am attaching the images for the WikiLeaks logos/images in chronological order to this email.
That is really all there ever was.

Aśka’s work on the WikiLeaks logo proves that design as a “stealth profession” remains possible. For all the anonymity that it wanted (and got), Aśka's WikiLeaks sign is, together with Anonymous’ question mark, a principal political image of the no-logo age. As someone commented on WikiLeaks’ Facebook post linking to this investigation: “whoever invented it, it’s history.”