Söderhavet draws The Dock hotel’s identity out of its interiors

The Dock is a waterfront destination hotel in Sweden, around 30 minutes from Stockholm, set on the old harbour site where the town’s docks once stood. Opened in late 2025, it has 183 rooms, a panoramic skybar, restaurants, meeting spaces, a cinema and a spa across 14 floors, made for weekend getaways, dinners and meetings alike. “There was a need for a place that combines an international atmosphere with local roots and a vibrant social environment,” explains CEO Jonas Karlsson. The hotel’s identity is the work of Stockholm-based design company Söderhavet, which shaped the positioning, verbal and visual identity, and the application across the building – from signage and menus to wayfinding and digital touchpoints. “Instead of starting with a logo and building outward, we started with the guest experience and the physical environment,” Söderhavet tells us, treating every element, from key cards to digital screens, as part of the architecture itself. Stripped of unnecessary graphic gestures, the system lets bold typography, tactile materials, warm photography and open spacing set the tone, so the identity feels like part of the interiors, one that supports the experience rather than competing with it. “A type-driven identity all the way,” the studio adds. “It was remarkably close,” Karlsson recalls of seeing the brand applied across the hotel, “because the brand and interiors evolved together rather than separately.” That thinking is clearest in the colour, with each tone lifted from the building’s own materials. “The burgundy reflects the warmth found throughout the walls and textiles in the lobby and lounges,” Söderhavet explains, with cream and warm grey drawn from stone and natural plaster, and dusty pink from upholstery, lighting and softer interior accents. “Black anchors the identity, echoing steel details, framing elements and the industrial structure of the building,” the studio continues. Set down with generous saturation and paired with warm photography, the palette gives every touchpoint an inviting warmth. “Together, the colours create an identity that feels like it belongs to the space rather than being applied afterwards.”