FeelFree Stays
Your door
to the city
FeelFree Stays
Your door
to the city
Context, challenge and objectives
Shaping a new brand that draws from all the values of the parent brand, FeelFree, while having a “life of its own”, demonstrating its personality in an original and compelling way. A spinoff—a new brand with a new business line.
At Mandarina Brand Society, our goal is to help brands build, over time, what they want to mean to others in a strategic manner, discovering and highlighting what makes them unique and relevant. We do this with sensitivity and logical thinking.
The FeelFree Stays brand definition project has been a clear example of our approach to creating extraordinary brands—from naming and brand strategy to visual identity and website.
The challenge was to shape a new brand nourished by all the values of the parent brand FeelFree, yet with its own “life”, showing its personality in an original and forceful way. A spinoff, a new brand with a new business line, offering a specific proposition to a defined target within a holiday rental market undergoing rapid growth (and significant legal restrictions).
FeelFree Stays (alongside FeelFree Rentals) is a sub-brand of FeelFree, a management company for holiday and seasonal accommodation in San Sebastián and Baqueira, offering apartments, villas and suites where you can “feel free to experience your holiday your way, without looking at the clock”. Spaces designed as true homes, so that travellers can enjoy memorable stays as if they were in their own house.
Strategy
The development of the brand strategy took into account the parent brand’s value and personality matrix, as well as the shared underlying concept of being a place, a base, a home—a space of architectural design inspired by Basque minimalist style, where guests can enjoy a stay of the highest possible quality (according to each category), finding moments of relaxation, silence, protection and security, enabling them to discover, experience and enjoy their chosen destinations in total comfort, without thinking about anything other than unwinding.
We built the strategy around the idea of a core / starting point from which to freely and independently explore the destination.
A symbiosis—an intersection—between the concepts of home, understood as a comfortable refuge or bunker that conveys protection and quietness, and enjoyment, encompassing experiences, holiday relaxation, tranquillity and happiness.
In this way, we defined its unique and distinctive identity around a purpose that invites the brand to provide users with private, essential refuges for rest and with a base from which to begin exploring the city and its offerings.
Tagline
YOUR DOOR TO THE CITY
Your gateway to the city was chosen as the tagline for FeelFree Stays: a reflection of an active and forward-thinking brand that embodies the values of freedom and autonomy (being able to do things “my own way”, without limits or schedules) while enjoying the pleasures of the destination and seeking comfort and wellbeing. Innovation and flexibility/adaptability were the other fundamental, differentiating values selected for Stays, expressing the originality of its modular solutions and its ongoing pursuit of the best possible options for its clients.
Naming
The name Stays was ultimately chosen by the client after an extensive collaborative creative process full of original proposals.
STAYS
The design concept we developed was inspired by the style and aesthetics of Basque industrial tradition.
Visual identity and applications
The visual identity was defined based on the brand’s personality traits: open, confident and friendly, while also providing creative, innovative and balanced solutions. It needed to clearly and powerfully express the fundamental attributes of modularity, adaptability and flexibility.
The chosen typeface, Macan Mono, perfectly conveys the brand’s (and product’s) openness to the world, sobriety and simplicity. Its stencil construction, with industrial inspiration, and its refined, subtle shapes complete the elegant character that STAYS embodies.
The layouts, inspired by the composition of technical documents and informational sheets, seek to create a sense of order and efficiency, built on a very simple structure that prioritises functionality and readability. We also aimed to introduce an element of surprise within the order by overlapping elements or adjusting their alignment.
The photographic style highlights spontaneity and naturalness, both in the room scenes and in the city. We did not seek perfect framing; instead, we prioritised capturing the energy of the moment, reflecting dynamism and a genuine, human user experience. By “integrating the photographer into the action”, we achieved a point-of-view (POV) effect that emphasises the brand’s originality.
The FeelFree Stays website is based on an iterative product design workflow that allows for continuous improvement through ongoing detection and implementation of enhancements.
Web design and development
The design of the FeelFree Stays website is a continuation of the FeelFree Rentals website (visit the website). Each site stands out through its own distinctive brand elements (primary typography, secondary colours, custom icons, etc.), achieving a unique visual identity for each one while remaining rooted in the essence of the parent brand, FeelFree.
Through this iterative product design workflow, we enable adaptation to new user needs and market trends, ensuring a strong user experience and keeping the website competitive within the holiday rental sector. Following this methodology, and in constant communication with both the client and users, the design process of this second website allowed us to identify and develop several improvements, which were then applied to both platforms.
As with the FeelFree Rentals website, the primary objective is to offer users an intuitive and efficient platform that facilitates the booking of their holiday apartment while meeting their needs. The site aims to connect with guests through an appealing design and clear access to information.
FeelFree Stays seeks not only to meet travellers’ needs but also to create an emotional connection that encourages them to return.
