Adria Mobil - Astella

Rethinking the Caravanning Experience

Client

Adria Mobil, Slovenia

Year(s)

2009-Present

How joining forces with Adria Mobil over the course of ten years gave rise to a new confidence, encouraging us to expand the notion of caravanning itself.

Others about us:

  • Design research process proved essential in defining innovation opportunities when developing our sailing boats. It is exciting to hear that this process is now available in digital form.

    Andraž Mihelin

    CEO

    ,

    Seascape

  • Using Intuido, we were able to collect more than 300 insights in just 2 weeks, providing us with a better understanding of our users, their experiences and needs. The tool also enabled us to create organised and well-structured innovation guidelines that will help shape the development of our products and services in the future.

    Matija Torlak

    Product Director

    ,

    Plastika Skaza

  • Sustainability is a core value at Intra Lighting, but often takes a back seat to quality, modularity, and culture, relying on individual employees. Efforts lacked consistent management and communication. Our collaboration sought to create a comprehensive sustainability strategy, with workshops producing valuable content for future solutions.

    Nika Furlan

    Head of Marketing

    ,

    Intra Lighting

  • Excellent collaboration that provided employees with the opportunity to express their needs and expectations for the new space and professionally guided the process through which we aligned priorities.

    Martina Knavs

    Strategic Projects

    ,

    Jožef Štefan Insitute

  • AMZS has a rich tradition yet faces mobility challenges. Flexibility, agility, and innovation drive our mission. We grow as individuals and teams. To communicate our mission, we partnered with Sito, enabling us to overcome challenges and co-create efficient paths for new offers and upgrades.

    Lucija Sajevec

    CEO

    ,

    AMZS

  • Over the duration of the project, our company has grown from 4 to 14 employees and has entered the US and Australian markets. Thanks to KCDM, we started using service design and began systematically managing our design processes.

    Andraž Mihelin

    CEO

    ,

    Seascape

  • Throughout the entire process, we have learned from Sito that we cannot address and resolve different needs and requirements using the methods we have known and been accustomed to until now. This is a significant gain that will help us in the development of our entire business, not just in space planning.

    Marin Medak

    Founder

    ,

    Della Spina

Others about us:

  • Using Intuido, we were able to collect more than 300 insights in just 2 weeks, providing us with a better understanding of our users, their experiences and needs. The tool also enabled us to create organised and well-structured innovation guidelines that will help shape the development of our products and services in the future.

    Matija Torlak

    Product Director

    ,

    Plastika Skaza

  • Design research process proved essential in defining innovation opportunities when developing our sailing boats. It is exciting to hear that this process is now available in digital form.

    Andraž Mihelin

    CEO

    ,

    Seascape

  • Throughout the entire process, we have learned from Sito that we cannot address and resolve different needs and requirements using the methods we have known and been accustomed to until now. This is a significant gain that will help us in the development of our entire business, not just in space planning.

    Marin Medak

    Founder

    ,

    Della Spina

  • Excellent collaboration that provided employees with the opportunity to express their needs and expectations for the new space and professionally guided the process through which we aligned priorities.

    Martina Knavs

    Strategic Projects

    ,

    Jožef Štefan Insitute

  • Sustainability is a core value at Intra Lighting, but often takes a back seat to quality, modularity, and culture, relying on individual employees. Efforts lacked consistent management and communication. Our collaboration sought to create a comprehensive sustainability strategy, with workshops producing valuable content for future solutions.

    Nika Furlan

    Head of Marketing

    ,

    Intra Lighting

  • Over the duration of the project, our company has grown from 4 to 14 employees and has entered the US and Australian markets. Thanks to KCDM, we started using service design and began systematically managing our design processes.

    Andraž Mihelin

    CEO

    ,

    Seascape

  • AMZS has a rich tradition yet faces mobility challenges. Flexibility, agility, and innovation drive our mission. We grow as individuals and teams. To communicate our mission, we partnered with Sito, enabling us to overcome challenges and co-create efficient paths for new offers and upgrades.

    Lucija Sajevec

    CEO

    ,

    AMZS

Others about us:

  • Using Intuido, we were able to collect more than 300 insights in just 2 weeks, providing us with a better understanding of our users, their experiences and needs. The tool also enabled us to create organised and well-structured innovation guidelines that will help shape the development of our products and services in the future.

    Matija Torlak

    Product Director

    ,

    Plastika Skaza

  • AMZS has a rich tradition yet faces mobility challenges. Flexibility, agility, and innovation drive our mission. We grow as individuals and teams. To communicate our mission, we partnered with Sito, enabling us to overcome challenges and co-create efficient paths for new offers and upgrades.

    Lucija Sajevec

    CEO

    ,

    AMZS

  • Sustainability is a core value at Intra Lighting, but often takes a back seat to quality, modularity, and culture, relying on individual employees. Efforts lacked consistent management and communication. Our collaboration sought to create a comprehensive sustainability strategy, with workshops producing valuable content for future solutions.

    Nika Furlan

    Head of Marketing

    ,

    Intra Lighting

  • Over the duration of the project, our company has grown from 4 to 14 employees and has entered the US and Australian markets. Thanks to KCDM, we started using service design and began systematically managing our design processes.

    Andraž Mihelin

    CEO

    ,

    Seascape

  • Throughout the entire process, we have learned from Sito that we cannot address and resolve different needs and requirements using the methods we have known and been accustomed to until now. This is a significant gain that will help us in the development of our entire business, not just in space planning.

    Marin Medak

    Founder

    ,

    Della Spina

  • Design research process proved essential in defining innovation opportunities when developing our sailing boats. It is exciting to hear that this process is now available in digital form.

    Andraž Mihelin

    CEO

    ,

    Seascape

  • Excellent collaboration that provided employees with the opportunity to express their needs and expectations for the new space and professionally guided the process through which we aligned priorities.

    Martina Knavs

    Strategic Projects

    ,

    Jožef Štefan Insitute

Looking for a new niche

Having been on a journey together since 2009, Adria Mobil entrusted us with a daring new mission. The company’s rise among the most sought-after caravanning brands of the past decade has led to a newfound courage that called for a new strategy. Our goal was to reconceptualise the caravanning experience to enable Adria Mobil to enter a new category of luxury caravanning products. But how do you do that and keep the appeal in a world of fast-changing life and vacationing styles?


Back to nature

Central to our approach was the design research for which we gathered over 450 user insights from 5 fairs around Europe. We discovered that caravanning is no longer popular for its affordability but rather for the luxury of enjoying one’s own comforts, while being close to nature. Users expect their home on wheels to be just like their home – set in beautiful natural surroundings. At the same time, our new design concept would need to prove caravans are still relevant in the hyper-connected yet increasingly individualist world full of accessible accommodation options.

A new shape - a new experience

We began by defining the exterior shape together with aerodynamics experts from Pipistrel. We discovered that when the caravan is in line with the towing vehicle, there are in fact no benefits in the caravan front and rear wall being sloped. The result was a cuboid shape, enabling us to work with space much similar to a mobile house. The straight walls brought another innovation: a set of extensive panoramic doors, allowing for a closer connection between indoor and outdoor living.

We built other features around the fundamental premise of living comfort. We designed three different layouts, each one focused on elevating the experience of a specific user scenario: extensive seating & living room area for comfortable lounging; open kitchen and dinette for dining and social gathering; and a sumptuous bedroom for rest and relaxation with unobstructed views of nature.

Easy folding mechanisms were built into all elements, allowing the effortless transformation of space. Approaching the design from a more architectural rather than automotive perspective also defined our choice of finishes; contemporary upscale materials and toned-down textiles convey elegance and spaciousness.

When first introduced at Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf in 2019, Astella was a showstopper. With a bold yet unassuming shape, a clear overall concept and well thought out details, it captures the essence of calm and comfortable living, connected both to the surroundings and the chosen company. Its inventive concept created a completely new niche which – much similar to glamping – attracted people who were not avid campers and caravanners but most frequently used to the comfort of hotel rooms, while at the same time seeking peace and closer connection to nature.

But perhaps the biggest reward was less tangible, but even more valuable. Close cooperation of teams required for setting up new standards and processes resulted in creating new synergies, uncovering new sources of innovation, and elevating the motivation of everyone involved the project.

Photographs are the property of Adria Mobil or its content suppliers or service providers.

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What is the vision for your brand?

How do you see your industry going forward?

Get in touch to increase your product success rates and build a resilient, future-ready product portfolio with us:

What is the vision for your brand?

How do you see your industry going forward?

Get in touch to increase your product success rates and build a resilient, future-ready product portfolio with us: