Uber's New Logo

[YankeeFan]

Is terrible:

 

[YankeeFan]

Oh, well now it makes sense:

Here's the paraphrased explanation from an Uber spokesperson: "At the very center of the app is the bit, which is supposed to summarize the technology. And the rest is the shape that denotes the product."

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

Uber changed its logo to something pretty weird

 

[Riptide]

I thought this thread was about Uber coming out and loving it.

 

[Batman]

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

Does the single line end in a shallow grave dug by the driver, who might be a serial killer known as the "Uber Undertaker?"

 

[YankeeFan]

But Uber’s rebrand suggests arrogance and inconsistency — signals, albeit faint ones, that potential potholes may lie ahead.

The arrogance comes in the rebrand presentation — itself an expensive-looking exercise — in which Uber first takes grandiose ownership of the whole world by harnessing its bits and atoms. (“The atom is responsible for everything from the BLT, to moms everywhere, to New York City,” intones the narrator on its new video, with the obvious implication that Uber is taking care of those beloved items too.)

The inconsistency is found by comparing Mr Kalanick’s blogpost from 2011 when he introduced the ubiquitous (but now apparently used-up) U logo, hailing its black-and-whiteness for its “approachability”. This is exactly the quality that he now finds lacking. “The old Uber was black and white, somewhat distant and cold,” he writes to justify the new look. “This 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.”

Uber employees have spent “months researching” the new country styles, and they are now going to give individual cities the same treatment. Presumably within a couple of years, Mr Kalanick will decide these makeovers need to be made over. The potential, in other words, for expensive and time-consuming re-rebranding — right down to the last Uber bit and atom — is huge.

Uber’s rebrand suggests arrogance and inconsistency - FT.com

 

[LongTimeListener]

An innovative and wildly successful company should always take marketing advice from newspaper columnists. And never change anything. Those are definitely two mantras that have gotten the news industry far.

 

[Brian]

An innovative and wildly successful company should always take marketing advice from newspaper columnists. And never change anything. Those are definitely two mantras that have gotten the news industry far.

"Uber should buy its own cars, paint them yellow and hire the drivers full time."

 

[YankeeFan]

 

[SpeedTchr]

I still don't get the whole "Uber" thing.
There are licensed cabs.
Why would I use some dip**** who may murder me or drop me in a deep pit full of rottweilers?

 

[LongTimeListener]

I still don't get the whole "Uber" thing.
There are licensed cabs.
Why would I use some dip**** who may murder me or drop me in a deep pit full of rottweilers?

You save a large amount of money and ride in a nicer car that's much more convenient at pick-up. It's a good deal if you make it out alive.

 

[Brian]

I still don't get the whole "Uber" thing.
There are licensed cabs.
Why would I use some dip**** who may murder me or drop me in a deep pit full of rottweilers?

Where is your sense of adventure?

 

[SpeedTchr]

You save a large amount of money and ride in a nicer car that's much more convenient at pick-up. It's a good deal if you make it out alive.

The only cabs I have ever really used are London cabs, and those are quite nice and very roomy.

 

[da man]

I still don't get the whole "Uber" thing.
There are licensed cabs.
Why would I use some dip**** who may murder me or drop me in a deep pit full of rottweilers?

I still haven't figured out how it's legal for them to get around the laws requiring cabs to be licensed, bonded, etc.

 

[TyWebb]

I still haven't figured out how it's legal for them to get around the laws requiring cabs to be licensed, bonded, etc.

"Ride sharing." They are just people who happen to be driving to where you want to go willing to help out and offer a lift.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I still haven't figured out how it's legal for them to get around the laws requiring cabs to be licensed, bonded, etc.

Yeah, that and the drivers not being considered employees seem to be pressing legal issues. It looks like their plan on that is to exist for so long that the laws accommodate them eventually.

 

[da man]

Yeah, that and the drivers not being considered employees seem to be pressing legal issues. It looks like their plan on that is to exist for so long that the laws accommodate them eventually.

They'll be too big to fail!

 

[Dyno]

I still don't get the whole "Uber" thing.
There are licensed cabs.
Why would I use some dip**** who may murder me or drop me in a deep pit full of rottweilers?

I use Uber a lot. The only problem I've ever had is one time I had a driver who didn't use his turn signals. Other than that, for me, Uber provides much better service than taxis. I've had to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a taxi, had incredibly surly drivers, drivers who drove like maniacs, drivers with cars that could not possibly have passed inspection without a bribe and more. Is every Uber driver amazing? No. Is every cab driver a maniac? No. But for me, Uber has been cheaper, faster, cleaner and safer.

 

[wicked]

Uber is able to undercut the taxis because their drivers haven't had to pay the insane six-figure fees for medallions.

Uber's main service (black cars) is more expensive than taxis, at least here. UberX is the route to go to save the coin. Lyft is the way to go to save even more money.

 

[qtlaw]

Uber is able to undercut the taxis because their drivers haven't had to pay the insane six-figure fees for medallions.

Uber's main service (black cars) is more expensive than taxis, at least here. UberX is the route to go to save the coin. Lyft is the way to go to save even more money.

The medallion thing is what was driving the scarcity of cabs and the prices.

I've been using Uber for a couple of years and its been very convenient and comfortable.

As for the employee thing, yes its a battle, but whereas the Uber class-action is pending; Lyft just settled their class action so that hurdle is behind them. I used Lyft twice this weekend and it was just as good as Uber (although they have tipping and Uber doesn't).

I'm just glad I'm no longer at the mercy of taxis and their obnoxious drivers who made me feel like I was inconveniencing their lives.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Speaking of logos, the Lyft mustache creeps me out like nothing else I've ever seen in advertising.