"I would love to redesign the Weleda packaging".

Catherine Maritn, Art DirectorMK Ms. Martin, you are one of the best packaging designers in the world. What does this award mean to you?Catherine Martin: This recognition is incredibly good. And it's an incentive for me to continue surprising my clients with trenchant ideas and concise implementations. By the way, I continue to be passionate about working for SMEs and start-ups. In the latter case, being creative is particularly appealing because you start from scratch and can create everything from scratch.MK What makes for good package design?Catherine Martin: It's actually like us humans. Our clothes express our personality. A sloppily dressed person radiates something completely different than a well-dressed one. It's the same with packaging: it has to express the personality of the product and the brand and position them promisingly with the consumer.MK What mistakes should you avoid?Catherine Martin: Packaging orgies, for example. Good packaging today has to be ecologically sound, because people want to enjoy it with a clear conscience. It also has to fit the product and the habits of the target group. A prominent example of a flop: In 2006, Nestlé created a new, transparent plastic packaging for its Cailler chocolate. Consumers suddenly turned their backs on the exquisite chocolate. Nestlé made the mistake of trying to appear too modern and stylish in a segment that places great value on tradition. The mistake was quickly corrected.MK How long do you need for a design?Catherine Martin: I work in phases. I call the first phase "cocooning. That means I retreat to my studio and tinker until I find the most fitting idea. When the time comes, you instinctively feel it. Then comes the phase of elaboration. A very concentrated phase, in which I test various possibilities in terms of design - until content and form mesh perfectly. Depending on the size and scope of the job, the entire process can take between five weeks and six months.MK How did you get into package design?Catherine Martin: My background is in traditional advertising. Since I started my own business, I focus on rebranding and new appearances. Often these also include a new package design - a discipline I love to conceive. Because package design is a three-dimensional advertising space and a mini billboard in one.MK What inspires you?Catherine Martin: I like reduced graphic design from London, Amsterdam, New York and Tokyo. Especially the design from Japan corresponds to my formal language. Because there, everything unimportant is left out. "Reduced to the Max", to use a well-known advertising slogan.MK Which packaging would you most like to redesign?Catherine Martin: Specifically, the Weleda packaging and some fine lines from Coop and Migros. It would be very appealing to find the design form that is tailor-made for the respective content.MK What advice do you have for young package designers?Catherine Martin inventing new things. And this with a lot of curiosity, heart and soul and passion.MK What does the package design of the future look like?Catherine Martin: Nobody knows. What we do know: It has to make people curious and create desire so that the product is gladly bought. Not just once, but again and again. Good package design is not creative self-realization, but a seductive means to an end.Interview: Denise Weisflog