Uber's new logo release creates some confusion

Uber initiated a worldwide “brand refresh” yesterday, changing its logo and app icon out of the well known monochrome palette and into a technicolour one. The overhaul, which has apparently been in the works since 2013, affects 65 country-markets and everything from company stationery to marketing communications. Each market will have an individually customised logo and app icon, designed to reflect the “identity” of that particular region. However, the main new image, and particularly the new logo – see here) has caused widespread confusion on social media, with users comments ranging from: “Wtf….not a fan of the new logo” to “Pacman eats an indigestible cube, discovers Tron, becomes Uber logo”.

 

In this July 10, 2012 file photo, Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.

In this July 10, 2012 file photo, Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick arrives at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. Credit: Paul sakluma/ap photo

You know that feeling you get when you walk into an art museum and scratch your head trying to understand the abstract paintings?

Now you can have that every single time you look at your phone screen, courtesy of Uber.

The ride-hailing startup ditched its plain U-logo on Tuesday in favor of a curious design for its current apps, which looks like an ink blot for corporate ambitions.





The logo change comes at a time when Uber's valuation continues to skyrocket -- most recently to $62 billion -- and its ambitions drive it into countries and product categories. Uber recently expanded its courier delivery service to new retail partners like Nordstrom and is planning to release a standalone food delivery app this spring.

"Have you ever looked at someone’s hairstyle and thought 'oh my, you peaked in the 1990s?'" Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO and cofounder, wrote in a kind of Mean Girls-y start to his blog post announcing the new branding. "Well that’s a bit how I feel about Uber’s look today."

Got it. Uber's old look: not fetch.

Is it a confused and bloated U? A drunk Pacman? A copy of a mouse pad on sale at the newly rebooted Circuit City?

No, it's... even more confusing than that.

So in the app that customers see (below, left), there is a single line representing the passenger's journey in the Uber car.

In the version of the app for drivers (below, right), there are two lines, representing the process of picking up and dropping off passengers at multiple points.

The two new Uber app symbols, with the one for riders on the left and the one for drivers on the right. Credit:

The background colors will eventually be customized for every country Uber operates in as well. As of Tuesday, there is a turquoise version for India and a red version (how original) for China.



Many on Twitter, not surprisingly, scratched their heads over the new design.













Uber's tagline has also changed, from "Everyone's private driver" to "Get there."

"Uber started out as everyone’s private driver. Today we aspire to make transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere and for everyone," Kalanick wrote in the blog post. "Our new brand reflects that reality by working to celebrate the cities that Uber serves."

You can certainly poke fun at the logo, but whatever you do, don't try putting it on a condom.

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