Unpacking Coffee with Kandace and Ray: Coffee Supreme

Coffee Supreme packaging photo by Needmore Designs.

In this week’s very special season finale of Unpacking Coffee, Kandace and Ray are visited in their Portland studio by the creative team at the venerable New Zealand roasting and retail company Coffee Supreme, which is soon to open its first shop in Tokyo.

Not only does the company have its own multi-person design team, they also freely look outward for design inspiration and working partnerships — a process that led to their gorgeous current packaging, including a nifty Venn diagram to communicate flavor attributes. This collaborative spirit is perhaps a testament to the often humble nature of New Zealanders (ignoring, for a moment, the name “Supreme”).

“There’s a culture in our country of keeping people grounded,” Coffee Supreme Creative Director Al Keating told K-Ray. “Basically we tell each other, ‘Get back down here, you’re getting a big head.’ It’s very kiwi to do that.”

Here’s more of the interview with CS’s Keating and art director Doug Johns, also does “Doug stuff:”

Unpacking Coffee is a show discovering new coffee roasters one episode at a time led by Kandace and Ray of the Portland-based studio Needmore Designs, which specializes in coffee, wine and lifestyle brands.