The importance of perspective

This past week Uber rolled out a new logo, along with a new corporate brand identity. As is often the case when a major brand undertakes a project of this magnitude, the internet has erupted with strong opinions around the new logo and design. Some are in the pro camp, while others seem to believe it may represent all that is evil and unholy in the world today.

I will spare everyone my personal opinion as I don’t claim to be a designer, and it would appear there are sufficient opinions on the record to date. But what isn’t being discussed nearly enough is the how. How did this new logo and identity come to be?

We all know the story of Uber, and its meteoric rise to a $60-billion company since launching in 2011. It’s the stuff of business legend, complete with a myriad of copycats in market today. But spend any time researching how the new identity came to be, and you will notice a trend – the echo chamber. Travis Kalanick, Uber’s founder and CEO, was the driving force behind the effort. While Kalanick is quick to admit he has no formal training, education or experience when it comes to logo design or corporate branding, he didn’t let this minor detail slow him down. In a recent Wired.com article, he was quoted as saying, “I didn’t know any of this stuff. I just knew it was important, so I wanted it to be good.”

Such was his desire to ensure greatness; he made the decision not to trust any of the work to “outsiders.” Rather, Kalanick stayed intimately involved in the process at every step and worked exclusively with existing Uber employees. The Wired.com article explains that, “This rebrand has been an act of self-exploration. It is his attempt to define who he is, and to give himself the flexibility to evolve alongside the company he started.” So where exactly is the Uber customer in all of this?

The reality is that only time will tell if the new brand identity and logo are successful or not. And ultimately, Uber’s customers – or lack thereof – will decide its fate. Which would seem to beg the question, why wouldn’t the project have started with them in mind? Why wouldn’t the Uber customer have been front and center in the research, development and evaluation of any new direction? Perhaps it was the strong opinions and large egos involved within the company. Perhaps it was the misguided belief that a brand is what a company tells its customers it is. Or perhaps, it was just due to a lack of perspective. A customer-first perspective that an agency would have ensured was the foundation for any evaluation.

Jeff Walter is President at R+K and a champion of R+K’s “Customer First” approach to branding.