Milestones

A quarter of a century ago, Klaus Hajok ventured into self-employment and founded his agency. It's time for a look into the past, but also into the future of packaging design.

neue verpackung: Mr. Hajok, after you founded your agency, specialization in packaging design quickly followed - was this due to a personal passion, or did this orientation come about as a result of projects?

Klaus P. Hajok: In my last job at a packaging design agency, I worked as an art director and was able to gain quite a bit of experience. With all my enthusiasm for branding and packaging design, at the beginning of my self-employment as a one-man-band it was almost impossible to even get an appointment with large companies or corporations, let alone an order. I was lucky when a Unilever manager I knew asked if I would be interested in a small project. That was the initial spark, and Unilever has been an important customer for us for over 25 years!

neue verpackung: You started out as a one-man-army in 1997, and 25 years later you have a kind of one-stop store for packaging design with 45 colleagues. What were the most important milestones from then until now?

Klaus P. Hajok: There were major and minor important milestones. By winning the major customer Globus, we built up our final artwork department in 2012. In 2018, as part of the rollout of the European Knorr portfolio with over 2,000 products, the in-house photo studio was added. Then in 2019, we expanded our Strategy Services (including naming). However, it is not just the milestones that have taken us forward, but the right mindset for achieving milestones.

neue verpackung: Which developments have had the greatest impact on packaging design over the past 25 years? And was there perhaps also an innovation that, in your view, unjustly failed to catch on?

Klaus P. Hajok: There have been many developments, fashions and trends, but overall the importance of packaging as the "last salesperson on the shelf" has become increasingly important. It has to communicate more and more and take on holistic tasks. It should look great, be perfect in use - in the supply chain and at home - and leave as small an ecological footprint as possible. But the ever-increasing demands also keep our work so exciting. Today, we can develop designs that in the past often fell victim to the clients' lack of courage at the time.

neue verpackung: Ms Lindner, besides design you are also passionate about psychology and sustainability. These are good prerequisites for solving the tricky task of developing sustainable packaging that is also recognised as such at the point of sale...

Madeleine Lindner: Since the topic of sustainability is enormously complex in its entirety, we are quickly overwhelmed and cannot make a decision. Who would know off the top of their head whether paper as a renewable raw material is more sustainable than reusable packaging made of monoplastic? The consumer should not ask himself this question in front of the shelf. There should be no doubt that the product he holds in his hands is sustainable, whether it is made of paper or plastic. We achieve this by focusing on one or two aspects of sustainability, because people are creatures of habit and like to make things easy for themselves. Most consumers are looking for a good compromise to soothe their guilty conscience. As designers, we can use certain trigger features to attract a consumer who is concerned about sustainability. What these are in concrete terms depends on the target group and also the competitive environment, among other things. It is important that the brand credibly delivers on the sustainability promise and that the consumer is not misled.

neue verpackung: High energy prices, inflation, etc. - the purchasing power of the population has fallen and is not likely to recover any time soon. Does this also have an impact on packaging design, so your customers are currently increasingly asking for cost-efficient solutions?

Klaus P. Hajok: Occasionally we are asked to reuse existing photos or illustrations, or projects are put on hold for the time being. In the packaging industry, for cost reasons alone, people have been working on ever more effective solutions for years, which is why there is often little potential for savings. Even if we are in a certain crisis permanence, consumers have demands on packaging design and quality.

neue verpackung: Besides the perennial topic of sustainability, which development do you think will shape packaging design in the coming years?

Klaus P. Hajok: In the DACH region, too, everyday things in the FMCG category will be bought online in the future. In many regions of the world, such as the UK, much more is bought via smartphone, which is already influencing packaging design. In addition, recycling as much material as possible in packaging will become crucial. We will still see a lot of plastic, but recycling will increase. Other and new materials will make their way in, which in turn will have an influence on design.

 The questions were asked by Philip Bittermann, editor-in-chief of neue verpackung