Uber collaborated with global creative agency jkr to design a new brand architecture. In order to become a brand representing 'mobility' beyond 'delivery', Uber needed a visual identity that could be used more broadly and respond flexibly. jkr added Uber's mobility brand, which aims to expand into AI to food delivery and cargo transportation, to the black and white logo designed with Wolff Olins in 2018.
“Sometimes you don’t need to change your logo,” said Tosh Hall, jkr’s Chief Creative Officer. Uber is a perfect example of this. The 2018 rebrand was exactly what the business needed at the time. “Our mission today was to build a brand architecture that positioned Uber as a full-fledged mobility brand.”
The new Uber uses circles, lines, and squares to express ‘movement’. The person who is the subject of departure is expressed as a circle, and the space as the destination is expressed as a square. It concisely expresses not only moving from point A to point B, but also the experiences you can experience while moving or after moving. Express your experience as a photo in a garden, square frame, or as an attractive one-stroke illustration with thick, curved lines.
Just as we defined Uber as black and white and Uber Eats as green, we also designed a palette that can be used for various services or situations. It's a color scheme that stands out especially against a dark, black background. Colors such as red, yellow, and blue are added to Uber's extremely restrained use of color, conveying an impression of comfort or clarity that was not felt before.
Rebranding often involves creating a visual identity from scratch to show that something has changed. This is a necessary strategy when the value provided to people is completely reversed depending on the purpose. However, there are cases where flashy expressions using new technology are used to attract attention even though the attitude or value of the service has not changed. Uber's brand expansion this time seems like a good example of expanding the brand without damaging its existing identity with simple graphic elements. The expression using circles and squares reminds me of Korea's Ilmin Museum of Art.
