When the Kasai Group wanted to breathe new life into one of Stockholm’s most iconic buildings—the Strand Hotel at Nybrokajen 9—FRIMA was commissioned to be involved from the initial concept through to the final launch.
Charles marks the beginning of a grand comeback: a new rooftop bar, hidden from the public until now, with views of Djurgården, Strandvägen, and the city skyline. It seats 150 guests, with character in every detail and an unexpectedly playful vibe that sets the tone for the entire venue.
A house with that kind of weight carries a risk: that it will become beautiful and awe-inspiring—and thus lifeless. Charles was not meant to be admired from a distance—it was meant to be filled with life. The project was therefore as much about attitude as it was about aesthetics: to find an expression that carries the house’s history without bowing to it.
FRIMA shaped Charles’s visual identity and tone from the ground up—from strategy to menu, from signage to social media. A style that feels just as natural on a drink menu as it does on a building facade. The same voice in the typography as in the imagery, the same attitude in a story as at a table. Only then does a bar feel like a place—and not just a logo.
We also handled the launch and PR efforts. The story of the secret rooftop bar overlooking Nybrokajen spoke for itself—it didn’t need to be shouted from the rooftops; it needed to be discovered. Charles got off to a flying start and secured a place in the minds of Stockholmers before the first drink had even been served.
