Opinion: Why Uber's Rebrand Is A Move In The Right Direction

The new identity for UBER has faced some harsh criticism since release. The newly designed ‘icon’, is a completely new direction from the previous ‘U’ shape UBER design.

So what’s all the fuss?

From forum comments such as “this is the worst case of rebranding for the sake of rebranding” to website ‘Gawker’ describing the branding as “outright charlatism,” the rebrand has undergone criticism on release.  

Not to mention condemnation from the creative industry of Uber’s co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick personally contributing towards to the design, the resignation of Uber’s Head of Design Andrew Crow on the same day the rebrand was released for family reasons, and the difficulty for users to locate the App on mobile, has resulted in a controversial release for Uber.

Perhaps a ‘our logo is changing’ communication prior to release may have helped users locate Uber on their devices, however with such releases in the immediate digital world its easier for brands to uproot from an existing logo to a new one.

Time will tell if the old ‘U’ style logo is remembered or the new Uber ‘icon’ design is one which endures.  However its time to move on from negative sentiment to look at the new Uber logo for what it is.

The rebrand includes the release of a new logotype design to be used in web and marketing, and new App icons both for Uber Rider and Partners users, and most likely this iconography will expand as Ubers services grow.

So why hasn’t Uber stuck with the ‘U’ shaped icon?  

While Uber has had its fair share of negative sentiment over the years, the new icon identity is not only a new direction for the brand, but a new pathway to channelling potential future multi-services.  In an interview with Wired Magazine Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, has been considering how the company can ‘grow up’ for the past two and a half years.

According to Uber's communication of the rebrand “Uber began life as a black car service for 100 friends in San Francisco—everyone’s private driver. Today, we’re a transportation network spanning 400 cities in 68 countries that delivers food and packages, as well as people, all at the push of a button. And thanks to services like uberX and uberPOOL we’ve gone from a luxury, to an affordable luxury, to an everyday transportation option for millions of people.”

UBER as a business has entered a new phase – new and maturing markets, redefining channels and the introduction of new services; not to mention growing mobile device usage, global awareness and a maturing brand all lead to a new Brand Strategy, a reinvigorated design and new market position.

Sure, why not continue with a redesign of the ‘U’ design so users can remain accustom with the brand.  A change this significant is not taken lightly, a new direction sometimes requires a clean slate and leadership that transforms the business, a time to ‘grow up’ as co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick described.

It’s a coming of age story, one to represent Uber well from the mobile device to share investors, to leave the negative sentiments behind and look to a new direction.

NEW APP IDENTITY

The Icons
Uber began as a private driver service and is largely known as that today.  However Uber no longer only moves people, food and goods are other services and I’m sure other services will become fully integrated into the networked global transportation business as it grows.  With the possibility of many Apps, the use of iconography by service is a strong brand strategy to harness a framework around future multi-services.

On release, Uber has released two icons for its Apps, one for Riders (Passengers) and two for Partners (Drivers) of the Uber service.  The new Uber ‘icon’ Brand Identity represents a connected world, a networked service, a global point-to-point transportation company.  I’m sure as future transportation services are plugged into the Uber service, new icons will be developed to communicate each service.

Left to Right: The new Uber Riders (Passengers) and Partners (Drivers) icons for each App.

The Atoms
The ‘atom’ branding of the connective background key lines further brands a connected global transportation service in the digital age.

According to Uber:  “[The atom] belied what Uber actually is—a transportation network, woven into the fabric of cities and how they move. To bring out this human side—the atoms—we’ve added color and patterns. The team has spent months researching architecture, textiles, scenery, art, fashion, people and more to come up with authentic identities for the countries where Uber operates.”

The ‘atoms’ localise and assimilates Uber by country within a global marketplace.  The colours are warm and humanistic to position the brand culturally.

Above: The 'atoms' localised by country

NEW LOGOTYPE IDENTITY

The Logotype
While the App iconography was updated, so too was the Uber Logotype reflected across the responsive site.  The older thin logotype with large spacing between each letter character, [otherwise known as kerning] has been updated with a thicker, bolder font with less space between each character making a stronger statement.

SUMMARY

As exposure to the redesigned logo matures the ‘U’ version logo will have played a role in the brands history as other previous Uber logos have, however the transformation will undoubtedly leave its past and lay the foundations for new Uber icons making way for existing services from people, packages and food to new services be they drone, online or mail for example or whatever the future direction of Uber may be.

Uber is now a global business with a multi-channel model requiring a new direction and Brand Strategy.  The company has evolved and as CEO Travis Kalanick described recently in Wired magazine regarding the new rebrand, “That happens, when you start to know who you are.”

Points To Consider:

• Ubers market position has changed, Uber no longer is a luxury private driver service, today it is a globally networked competitive transportation model.  The previous ‘U’ icon and typography communicated a luxury brand, and is not relevant with todays service and the future direction of the brand.
   
• It’s not uncommon for founders such as CEO Travis Kalanick to be involved in the design process, they have a vested interest.  Key stakeholders are often involved in the design process from varying degrees, I know as formerly a Designer I have had my fair share of rebrand contributions from founders over the years.
   
• No all aspects of the redesign have completely changed, the UBER logotype for instance has been modernised and maintains the previous logotype presence.  It’s white on black corporatisation remains similar in design as its predecessor.
   
• Uber has undergone some controversy in the past – legalities  regulation, driver behaviour and bad user experiences have given way to negative sentiment.  A refreshed brand and a new 'brand face’ is often a key strategy at a time of a Brand Crisis, not that Uber has had a significant crisis, however it is a mechanism to drive the brand forward.
   
• Some of the worlds greatest Apps are represented by iconic graphic symbols and are not direct literal brand meanings of themselves, a ‘U’ shape for instance. Facebook [F symbol] and Pinterest [P symbol] are literal App icons; Twitter’s bird [bird graphic] or Instagram’s camera [rendered stylised camera] icons evoke what the Apps do;  while Apps such as Strava [Ascent & descent icon] or Spotify [sound wave icon] use symbolic iconography.
   
• As a model comparison, the App Instagram is similiar to Uber with two identities for different purposes, one the Instagram cursive script logotype, and two the Instagram stylised rendered camera icon.  While Uber’s design strategy is to have more than one App icon, both Instagrams icon & logotype exist and are used in different ways.
   
• The use of multi-Apps under the one brand umbrella is not new, Facebook and LinkedIn for instance both have developed Apps outside their core App.
   
• In a growing cluttered space for Apps, the iconography of an App must be easily identifiable.  Whilst a suite of Apps must relate, not all Apps are used or applicable to the one user.  It is crucial to design a App icon that not only relates with other house brands, it cuts through the clutter, particularly for a user centric service such as Uber.
   
• The previous Uber logo always envoked a sophistication to its logo, somewhat similar to a luxury brand it was a luxury service.  Today it is far from luxury people transportation.
   
• Accessing Apps on a mobile device is largely an intuitive process for users.  Most mobile users are savvy enough to know on which screen the App or within which folder the App exists.  When Uber updated the App, most would have accepted it may have updated via the Apple Store update and remained in the same screen position as previously known, seen the update processing in the App Store and not solely relied on recognising the App icon.
   
• Whilst not visually a pure literal translation of the name or its predecessor, Uber’s new App icon is representative of a globally networked transport brand.