The next time you see Uber, you might not recognise it. That is because the company has had a massive aesthetic makeover to rival all of Donatella Versace’s. The new Uber branding, according to CEO Travis Kalanick, celebrates the company’s technology, as well as the cities it serves.
Uber has grown to be a food and package delivery service and is no longer just the ride hailing service that it was when it began. It is that the company CEO points towards as the reason for the branding change.
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The new look Uber has been in the works for two years and the intention is to make it represent what Uber is going to become in the future and not only what it is now. The design philosophy is influenced by two concepts, the bit and the atom, which have been introduced throughout the design framework and are visible in the new app icon and website. This enables Uber to have a consistent design that highlights information and make the brand easy to recognise.
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The atom concept is made up of colours and patterns and communicates Uber’s human side, that the company is more than a simple ride hailing service but a “transportation network, woven into the fabric of cities and how they move”.
“The unique aspect of Uber is that we exist in the physical world. When you push a button on your phone, a car moves across the city and appears where you are. We are not just technology but technology that moves cities and their citizens” Kalanick said in a blog post.
Uber has also gotten rid of the curl on the ‘U’ and opted for a basic font that will, according to its CEO, and represents the maturity of the company and “will help you see Uber from afar”.
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The design of the logo follows the company’s business ideology of curating its product and business models for specific regions. This is visible in the app icon for both the riders and drivers. The icon is now centered with local colours and patterns in the background. The team spent months researching architecture, textiles, scenery, art, fashion, people and more. to come up with authentic identities for the countries where Uber operates.
“In Mexico, we were inspired by Mexican pink and the patterns in the local tiles; in Ireland, from the Georgian architecture and the lush greens; and in Nigeria, from the ankara, which came up again and again because of its bright colors and beautiful geometric patterns” Kalanick explained.
The CEO promises more changes to the company’s branding, noting that in the future, each city and country might see a unique design that cannot be found anywhere else.
