Of all the things to be mad at Uber about (like the time a woman was charged $12,000 for a ride or the time someone went bankrupt due to surge pricing or the time–today–when they promised puppies and didn’t deliver to my house), you wouldn’t think it was their new logo that would get people so ready to knock things over and throw themselves off of tall buildings. But, for some reason, people who use the app and follow the company on Twitter are very, very unhappy that the ride-sharing company changed its brand’s look without consulting them.
In case you’re not familiar with Uber’s old logo–I couldn’t think what it looked like off the top of my head–it was a bent grey U on a black background. Now it looks like some kind of vague ocean thing that’s confusing at most. What do the depths below have to do with sharing a ride downtown? Why must change be so hard?
Here’s the logo–technically just the app icon– looking like a fluffy pillow lost in a sea of endless water, without any way to tell if there’s even a U in there:
https://twitter.com/SamuelGibbs/status/694805029333655552
And here’s just a sampling of negative reactions people have had to the logo:
https://twitter.com/joshuatopolsky/status/694675595901407232
liking uber's new logo which is a silhouette of the mallet your driver hits you w/ before uber denies responsibility pic.twitter.com/C0V1HZK75e
— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) February 2, 2016
congrats to uber for shaking its anxiously masculine dudebro image by literally making its new logo a dark sperm https://t.co/CeKLN6eHvT
— matt weinberger (@gamoid) February 2, 2016
https://twitter.com/rosiesparty/status/694991859194687488
GOOD REASON TO CHANGE THING: MAKE IT BETTER
BAD REASON: YOU BORED AND STUPID#UBERLOGO
— FAKEGRIMLOCK (@FAKEGRIMLOCK) February 3, 2016
https://twitter.com/SophieCurthoys_/status/694821439694868481
https://twitter.com/markbiegel/status/694670326366535681
Wut?
#UberLogo first impression: car ignition, blue veins. Biomechanical orifice, H.R. Geiger, machine embedded in its living host
— Justin Jones 🐦⬛ (@devpuppy) February 3, 2016
These people know what the logo means because they’ve discovered the inspiration:
Ok, I think I've finally discovered the inspiration for Uber's new logo. pic.twitter.com/wwJBEQU3gh
— Gabe Rivera (@gaberivera) February 3, 2016
Hmm I thought the new Uber logo reminded me of something… pic.twitter.com/suwqrvCqe4
— Jonathan Shariat (@DesignUXUI) February 3, 2016
why is uber's new logo a trade federation command ship
— Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) February 3, 2016
New @uber logo vs literally every Chinese bank's logo pic.twitter.com/y99bUCGUi1
— Kevin Tang / @ktang.bsky.social (@Yolo_Tengo) February 3, 2016
Left: ancient Chinese coins; Right: #uberlogo 😅🤔 Make u think doesn't it pic.twitter.com/LzaN6VmkuJ
— Grace Han (@g_han) February 3, 2016
But what’s most worrying is how seriously Uber is taking its new logo:
https://twitter.com/ow/status/694978616401207296
No cupcakes? I guess I’ve got to start using Lyft instead.
For the record, Uber’s got an explanation for what’s going on. Whether anyone’s buying it is another question.
https://twitter.com/Uber/status/694603879372066816
Check out the bits and atoms behind our new look. https://t.co/PfMbXZMPyYhttps://t.co/RCiwd7wMVh
— Uber (@Uber) February 2, 2016