Uber is an American company that specializes in taxi services, although they’ve also branched out to food deliveries in 2014 (with Uber Eats) and later to being a general courier service. The can branch is still the most popular of the Uber divisions, and it’s the one this company is known for throughout the world. Their app works all over the world, with drivers working for Uber found in most countries on Earth.
Meaning and History
Created in San Francisco in 2009, the company’s original name was Ubercab. In 2011, it was simplified to just Uber following a big redesign. So, the current name comes from the previous variation, which in itself is comprised of two parts: ‘uber’, a German prefix for ‘over’ or ‘super’, and ‘cab’, which taxi. It basically meant ‘supertaxi’ or something along those lines.
What is Uber?
Uber is the foremost online cab service, popular and present throughout the world. Created in 2009, it soon became a trendsetter for similar services all over the planet, thanks to their innovative app that offers a comfortable, cheap and quick way to order a cab.
2009 – 2010
The original Uber logo consisted of two parts: the emblem and the name beneath it.
The emblem is a part of two burgundy letters ‘U’ and ‘C’ side by side. They are identical visibly, except the second one is rotated 90 degrees. Both are very simple and extremely bold. There’s also very little room between the two, which makes them look like one and the same image.
The word ‘Ubercab’ below is written in a very different style. It has as generic sans-serif font where all characters are in the lowercase format. They are all black and written in a single line. The size of these letters was adjusted specifically so that the word itself was as long as the emblem above.
2010 – 2011
The big change in this logo is that they’ve essentially scrubbed the ‘cab’ parts from the design. The company was still called ‘Ubercab’ at this point, but they’ve started to experiment with branding.
They’ve swapped the elements, placing the written bit above the emblem. The written bit is now just ‘Uber’, in the exact same style as before. The emblem likewise misses the big letter ‘C’. Lastly, they’ve changed the burgundy to a lighter red color to appear friendlier. The written part is still as wide as the emblem bit.
2011 – 2016
The following design was introduced after the company officially changed the name. It features just the word ‘Uber,’ but in a unique, peculiar style.
The letters are extremely slim, black and placed far apart from one another. They’ve also use an unusual font that looks overly geometric, preferring straight lines with 90° angles. The leftmost and rightmost tips (of ‘U’ and ‘R) also have these strange curls, which are supposed to represent constant motion.
2016 – 2018
The next design has a similar, but ultimately more simple and orthodox look. The name is still a fully capitalized string of letters, although situated much closer now. The font resembles the previous style somewhat. Notably, it’s much bolder this time. The characters share many similar elements, except they are much less pronounced this time because of the extra boldness. Other elements, like the aforementioned curls, are gone.
2018 – today
The 2018 design of their name is instead reminiscent of the earliest style. The font is similar to the 2010 variation, although much less bold. The color is also a true black now, whereas before it was more like a dark grey. Lastly, the letter ‘U’ is enlarged to be as tall as the letter ‘b’, which remains lowercase like the rest. Overall, the logo conveys a smooth, laid-back attitude.
Color
The Uber branding has long been using the colors black and white for most purposes. The latest logotypes use the color black almost always, except when the letters are placed against a darker background. In this case, they use white instead. They’ve also used red in the earlier iterations, but it’s long been phased out.
Font
The current font is a very basic script, not unique to Uber, although now deeply associated with it. It does have a certain preference for smooth and upright shapes. Previous, though, they’ve also dabbled with geometric styles, as well as overly rounded corners.
