Cabify (2017)Copied

Cabify launched in 2011 and, by February 2017, operated in 12 countries. On 9 February it changed its logo for the first time. Exame reported the new identity as more modern, simple and fluid than the previous one, which had harder, straighter lines, and the colours moved from white, black and yellow to purple and white. The concept stayed the same: the C of Cabify as a pin on a city map. Exame tied the change to Cabify's ambition to reach more Brazilian cities and expand globally.

El Universal's newsroom, reporting via Notimex, quoted chief executive Juan de Antonio on the aim of a more human alternative close to people, wanting not just to transport riders but to improve the experience of moving around cities. The company said the purple C symbol represents movement and the journey users and drivers make every day, with a range of colours in graphic materials. Cabify's own announcement summed up the intended personality as close, fun and human, with purple meant to make it stand out.

Mercado Negro in Peru added detail on the mark: the circle extends at an angle at the bottom to form a C with personality, and the outline treatment refers to routes, roads and itineraries. Country manager Jorge Romero said the change came from Cabify's own in-house design team, and that purple was chosen as one of the colours furthest from other apps.

The colour choice is the whole story and it works. Leaving its old yellow for purple, which Romero called one of the colours furthest from other apps, gives Cabify a colour it can own. The redrawn C is a modest improvement, softer and more legible at small sizes. The rationale is generic: close, fun and human describes every consumer app's mood board. But the in-house team did the important thing, which is making Cabify look like nobody else on a crowded home screen.