"I wanted to change car advertising"

1. what would you work for free?
Only for OndadeMar, the cult swimwear brand from Colombia. Well, not quite free: I'd get paid in bikinis.

2. where and how have you ever bluffed in your life?
Cartagena. At last year's Art Cartagena art fair, I extended my last name for the tabloids. Martin became Martinéz.

3. what would you most like to promote?
For coffee. My dream would be to launch the Juan Valdez brand, which is still unknown in this country. In the U.S., the Colombian coffee brand has long been known and has its own stores in New York.

4. what advertising should be banned?
Those annoying banners that often sprawl across editorial space.

5. if you had not become an advertiser - what then?
I have no idea. I was lucky enough to be able to turn my passion into my profession at the age of 15. My cousin Claude Martin, who was Creative Director at Publicis at the time, supported me on my educational path. I owe him a lot.

6. what was the most fun lunch partner? Why?
Matthias Mächler from "Die Magaziner". With humorous people, lunch becomes a feast.

7. what do you see as the biggest challenge for advertising at the moment?
Today, we live in a total media overload. It is therefore crucial to separate the important from the unimportant and to communicate clearly and concisely. Less is more!

8. Do you fall for advertising? When?
In the women's WC. I like to take the hand cream minis with me and try them out.

9. a buzz word that gets on your nerves?
Crowdfunding. What was actually a good idea has now taken on inflationary traits. Everyone has a project that they think is worthy of support. Even if it's still half-baked.

10. what is impossible for you to do without?
Here's to coffee, music and avocados.

11. What inspired you to enter the advertising/communications industry?
As a 15-year-old, I wanted to change car advertising. I found the lasciviously lolling women on the hoods of cars clumsy and sexist. Today, car advertising largely gets by without girls, but it still hasn't gotten any better. One would wish this industry more ideas, humor and style.

12. name a campaign that has recently caught your eye in a positive way - but did not originate with you.
There are a few: The UBS retirement campaign "Getting older starts earlier than you think" by Publicis. The new Switzerland tourism film with Buzz Aldrin by Havas Worldwide. And the new campaign by Ruf Lanz for the Haus Konstruktiv museum. All cleverly conceived and excellently made.

Which professional colleague would you take with you to a desert island?
My life partner Markus Ruf.

Catherine Martin was selected this year by Lürzer's Archive as one of the 200 best packaging designers 2015/2106 worldwide. Since 2012, the Swiss-Colombian dual citizen has been working as an independent graphic, brand and editorial designer as well as an art director for direct clients and for advertising agencies. Her direct clients include the Zurich Doctors' Ball, the Education Department of the City of Zurich, Otto Fischer AG and several start-ups.

The "13 Questions" appear both online and in the print edition of Werbewoche.

Implementation 13 Questions: Thomas Häusermann