That’s how Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick described how he felt about the company’s (old) logo, in a statement he released today announcing that Uber has a whole new look.
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That “bit” will also be a running theme in Uber’s partner apps, as seen in the hexagonal shape that encloses a square for the driver logo. Uber has been aggressively expanding into adjacent services like food delivery lately, so that explanation makes some sense.
Uber has changed its brand to focus on its diverse operations, specifically moving away from the most recognizable black badge as being “everyone’s private driver” to focus on its enormous technology portfolio, and the cities in which it serves.
According to Kalanick, Uber’s old black and white design didn’t properly convey the company’s motivations. This enables Uber to have a consistent design that highlights information and make the brand easy to recognise.
“The unique aspect of Uber is that we exist in the physical world”.
[The atom] belied what Uber actually is-a transportation network, woven into the fabric of cities and how they move. Gone is the stylized curl on the “U” – it’s just a basic sans serif font now, which Kalanick says will “will help you see Uber from afar”.
The company appeared to have given several media outlets a look into its rebranding process, with sites including Wired, The Verge, Fast Company, and Mashable touting sneak peak stories on Tuesday afternoon. “To bring out this human side…we’ve added color and patterns”, Kalanick wrote. As for the background of that logo, eventually each country, and later on each city, will feature its own locally inspired pattern.
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Uber’s design team has also assigned colors to each country where the company operates.
