Heiko Hillig is head designer at Naef. He has been working for our company for 27 years and has played a decisive role in shaping its history. No design object or children’s toy goes into production without his critical appraisal. Every photo and every piece of packaging has to meet his standards – just two of the many things he is responsible for at Naef. He also works as an artist and is always happy to take on teaching assignments. Read more in the interview with Heiko Hillig.
Heiko, you’ve been working for Naef since 1997. That’s an eternity. What keeps you at this company?
Yes, it has been quite a few years, but it doesn’t feel like a long time. That’s probably due to the diversity of my work and the uniqueness of the Naef company. Even as a student, I wanted to design a product for this company, which quickly became reality with “Rainbow”. In my work here, I enjoy a lot of trust and freedom. I not only appreciate what I can do for Naef, but also how I can do it. For me, it’s more than just working – it’s a good feeling to be part of Naef.
What exactly is your area of responsibility at Naef?
I am responsible for the creative aspects such as helping to select products and, as product manager, working with the designers to turn the selected objects into industrial products and give them a distinctive name. I am also responsible for contact with our designers and collectors; the design of our print materials (catalogs, pattern book); the creation of product texts, meaningful photos and their digital processing; as well as the development of product packaging from A to Z. My tasks also include the organization of Naef’s trade fair presence at the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, including setting up and dismantling the stand. Animation is particularly important to me, i.e., demonstrating what you can do with the toy objects. I am also responsible for our archive, which needs to be expanded.
Working at Naef is not your only form of employment. What else are you working on?
Since I work part-time at Naef, I have the opportunity to pursue other creative and artistic endeavors. Even as a child, I’ve always wanted to create my own things… building a lamp myself, a tray for my mother for her birthday, a table … today we eat at a table I built myself. Artistic exploration has been important to me since I was a student at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, Germany. My “Abstract Compositions” made of cardboard have kept me busy for a long time and I have already been able to show them at a number of exhibitions. At www.heiko-hillig.com you can get a visual impression of them. Teaching is also a welcome challenge. I have accepted various teaching assignments, such as a deputy professorship in the wood design/furniture and product design course at the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences in Zwickau, Germany. It is always a pleasure to design things together with young creative people.
As a designer, you have designed and developed a number of products for Naef that are still popular and available today, for example Rainbow and Imago. What determines whether a product is successful?
If only I could explain it so easily! It is probably the sum of various factors. A really good manufacturing quality seems to me to be central. The product can and should surprise, above all it has to work, perhaps it can even be combined with existing products and thus offers additional potential. Then there is the presentation of the product, good photos and videos that make people curious and want to hold it in their hands. People who are enthusiastic about it and show how you can play with it are also extremely important.
You are the touchstone when it comes to deciding whether a product should be included in the Naef range. What do you look at as a designer?
I’m not the only touchstone, we decide as a team. It’s also about manufacturability and economic aspects. In terms of design, the product has to fit in with us and our range, i.e. be geometric and minimalist, reflecting the spirit of the times without clinging to it too much, as our focus is on long-lasting products. If you have the impression that something NEW has always been part of the Naef range, then it is GOOD.
What do you find special about Naef’s play objects?
Our range extends from toys for babies to replicas of Bauhaus-designed products- a very wide spectrum. The common attributes seem to me to be the geometric abstraction and precise manufacture. We often operate at the limits of what is feasible in wood processing, which fascinates me. You could also say that we produce things that few dare to do. It is also very special to work with people who are capable of doing just that.
Do you play with Naef products at home?
Playing with our daughter Marie Luise is in the past. Today it’s about positioning Naef objects in the living environment, taking them in my hands, changing them, combining them and making them appear new. I’m also happy to show guests what’s possible with our products. As a collector, I always keep my eyes open for “old” things from Naef, because there are still gaps in our archive.
Cover picture: Arne Jäkel