The market for new housing productions in the larger Stockholm area is massive, which makes it hard for many projects and initiatives to compete. Rio, a new housing building in Sundbyberg outside of Stockholm city, needed both attracting place branding and a visual concept to compete with the city lobsters. The challenge was to define the offer and create an overall, vivid concept for the building, put the geographic location “on the map”, and create added value by premium pricing and an easy sales process.

Surrounding projects in Stockholm often go for a Nordic focus that convey minimalism, natural colours, and Scandinavian materials. In many cases, this is what people want. But there was also a disbelief from our side since everyone was doing the same thing. Instead we spotted an opportunity. Our idea was to deliver on the whole project and create a world full of colour for a specific target group that wouldn’t be interested by the competition. We created a playful identity that derived from a lifestyle that is exotic, warm, and vibrant. The identity was also reinforced with a geometric pattern and visual elements to be used in various communication assets, giving a strong impact and recognition. Together the elements created a style that was applied on top of images, used in graphic material and that also could be used as an art element inside the building.

We developed an online presence for Rio that we named Lilla Torg – an area between the houses that Tobin Properties acquired. It let us change the perception of the houses in an industrial area so that the site instead got its own identity and showcased something different. And when the sales finally started, we got the receipt: Rio was truly attractive to buyers, the sales goal was met, and Stockholm added an exclusive star on its map.