From calling out greenwashing with quiet clarity to reviving zine culture with augmented reality, he reminds us: creative rebellion can be thoughtful, strategic, and deeply responsible. This month in our Five Questions series, we spoke with Max Niederschick, a designer and sustainability strategist who brings a punk attitude into branding, environmental advocacy, and even AI-powered print design.
1. You call yourself a punk in design and sustainability. What does that identity mean to you when it comes to creative strategy and challenging the status quo in how brands talk about environmental responsibility?
Yes, I do call myself a punk. And yes, I’m a designer and a sustainability manager. Punk and design have always gone hand in hand – management, admittedly, is a bit more of a stretch 😉
But to answer your question, we need to dismantle a few myths surrounding the punk ethos. At its core, punk is about standing up for what you believe in. It’s about not bending in every breeze – having, as we say, backbone. Always. Even when it hurts. This mindset lends itself beautifully to both design and sustainability. Doesn’t every brand want to be strong? And isn’t it essential, when we speak of environmental responsibility, to take a clear and substantiated stance?
Sure, all that talk of rebellion and the usual clichés... I admit, my haircut and outfits were already out of fashion in the ’80s, but both the spirit of the movement and my own identity have evolved over time 😉
This evolution also includes things like Clean Creatives membership – which, in terms of outward impact, feels far more punk than the certificates from prestigious educational institutions. What helps bring that together with the "spirit of the old days" is punk’s inherent openness and joy in difference, in the new.
2. You’ve worked in both corporate branding and sustainability circles. How do you bring a punk mindset into spaces that often play it safe?
That’s actually easy to answer. Yes, both fields tend to play it safe – especially in their execution – but having a bit of punk attitude along the way can make all the difference.
Someone once asked me „what“ I am. My answer was clear: I’m a difficult person. I look where it hurts. That’s the only way I can find real solutions. Just looking where the light shines – that’s not honest. That’s not punk. I don’t need to be popular at any cost.
But let me be clear: just because I go against the grain doesn’t mean I always get it right. What I aim to do is provoke thought – question purpose and meaning – to break through established communication patterns.
My work in circular communication and awareness-raising challenges linear thinking and fosters sustainable development that goes beyond short-term campaigns. I use playful methods to tackle complex content – approaches that combine accessibility with professional depth.
3. Your agency works across analog and digital, print and AI, hybrid publishing, service‑design and brand identity. How do you reconcile these overlapping mediums without diluting sustainability or creative depth?
To me, the key lies in combining techniques. Only by connecting and truly understanding them can we develop strategies that actually work. This approach avoids dilution because we don’t just use a medium because it’s available – we use it strategically.
I like that you framed your question around these connections. People often assume I reject new technologies because I question them. Yes, I’m rarely a first mover, and certainly not a crowd-follower – I allow myself the luxury of observing and integrating what I find truly valuable. If something doesn’t genuinely benefit a project, then it’s simply not the right tool.
Our agency draws on a vast pool of experience – from letterpress to digital solutions. That enables us to combine analogue aesthetics with cutting-edge tools. A recent example is the design magazine MUTBOARD & VOGEL, where we fused a classic print product with augmented reality content.
If you see sustainability not as an extra checkbox but as an intrinsic part of the creative process, you create the consistency and integrity that good design needs. That’s what we live by. When we mix analogue and digital, we do so with the awareness that sustainable communication ultimately means taking responsibility.
4. The Green Claim Directive and ESG reporting are shaking up marketing. If punk means tearing down accepted “greenwashing” tropes, what provocations or reframes are needed to ensure authenticity in sustainability messaging?
Ha, yes – although I still wish marketers were moving a lot more! And to be honest, I’m not even sure provocation is always necessary 😉 What is needed, though, are those oft-cited “new narratives”. We need stories that move people. No one wants to read about deprivation or sacrifice – it’s up to us to tell the right stories.
That reminds me of a little anecdote on provocation and punk:
Years ago, I toured with British punk musician TV Smith (of The Adverts). After a concert in St. Pölten, we gave a ride to a punk from the audience, heading to Vienna. Not far into the journey, the passenger asked what punk meant to TV Smith. The musician was about to answer, when suddenly from the back seat came: “Punk means rebellion, destruction, resistance…” (and plenty of other clichés). “Above all, it means being against everything.” TV Smith calmly replied, “Oh my God. You haven’t understood a single thing.”
Punk was never just “anti-everything”. That’s why I believe the kind of critical observation I mentioned earlier is key to ensuring authenticity in sustainability messaging.
Yes, punk may have looked like that in the 1980s – but today? We still look critically at the world – but now, that outlook helps us find answers. We don’t need to destroy the greenwashing tropes you mentioned – we need to expose and explain them. Okay, that’s less rebellious, I admit. But in challenging times, you don’t reach people with Sid Vicious behaviour – you reach them by meeting them where they are and guiding them forward. That’s what lived authenticity looks like.
5. As a founding member of sustainability design networks like Greller Propeller, how do you see the role of communal punk attitudes (e.g. DIY energy, rebellion against cheap design norms) feeding into broader sustainable design movements in Austria or Europe?
Ah, now you’re making me nostalgic 😉 Greller Propeller – those were the days. A group of passionate people backing a cause that, at the time, had little public visibility. That’s exactly why it was so important to stand up for sustainability and give the topic a broader platform. Which we certainly managed – with interviews, blog posts, social media and more. The project would’ve deserved a broader impact – but who knows, maybe I’ll dig it out again someday 😉
You’ve actually stumped me with this one – the answer isn’t simple. I’m not sure whether those “shared punk values”, boiled down to this term, can really play a central role in broader, responsible design movements. But they do have a clear role to play in sustainable consumption. We see that in many areas – from more conscious diets and mindful product use to shifts in how we get around.
Much of what’s now taken for granted started through DIY efforts in small communities or collective commitment from growing movements – attitudes that are often associated with punk, but also exist in other cultures.
As the Manic Street Preachers ask in the title track of their latest album: “What happened to your critical thinking?” I genuinely believe that if we as designers hold on to this spirit of critical thinking – and again, not as “anti-everything” – then we’re already taking the first steps toward a broader, more responsible design movement.
I know that many of my peers are on that path. They might not always be seen as the experts they truly are, but they know what needs to be done.