Mai: is a boutique, mindful and eco-friendly co-living space located in the midst of a greenery forest in Noosa Hinterland, QLD Australia. Handcrafted to live in harmony with nature, mai: is carefully crafted for you to slow down, relax, feel at home with our own mind & body. The name “mai:” comes from “mai:tri” (pronounced “my-tree”) a Sanskrit for “compassionate friendship.” It is the Buddist philosophy of cultivating unconditional friendship towards oneself. It’s also a homonym of the “mind” in mindfulness and “plum flower” (indicating spring season) in Vietnamese.

Inspired by the practice of mindfulness in Plum Village – Tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that our founders had experienced during the pandemic due to COVID-19 in 2021, we have created a wholistic brand identity that encompasses all this: the quality of sustainable and eco-aware services, linked to the wellbeing of a slow-paced lifestyle. Strategy, visual identity, art direction, design, website have to be consistent from the beginning in order to tell mai:’s story and philosophy of mindful and authentic living.

Therefore, the design concept reflect the nomadic & free-spirited experience that people will have at mai: co-living space. A series of lovely messages about mindfulness appears in a series of playful and quirky illustrations together with a mixture of hand-drawn, sans serif typeface and a fresh, natural & organic color palette. The logotype is set in lowercase to reflect the friendliness and welcoming vibe of the host.

At mai:, we design every single little step of your experience to help you slow down, switch off and get in touch with nature. Whether taking a walk in the forest or practicing meditation besides a gurgling stream, you go home to your mind and your body. When you work in the garden, you get in touch with the plants and nourish the connection to the earth we are living on.

We have created a system of single line illustration that transforms colors from one to another smoothly as the flow of emotions when we live in harmony with nature of the outside world as well as the colorful world within ourselves. These activities are described through rough crayon strokes that depict the freedom and spontaneity of the flow of mindfulness. Being one to nature.