Introducing our latest Compostable Canvas artist, Michael Bullen.

We've never been more excited to to introduce our latest Limited Edition Compostable Canvas designer - our very own Michael Bullen!

Besides being super talented, Mike is the Senior Designer here at decent packaging. He is decent through and through - from working in the Auckland warehouse in the early days, to leading our design department and relocating to our London office in 2019. If you've ever thought 'wow, decent has great branding', you can guarantee Mike is the mastermind behind it. 

We chatted to Mike about how he got into design, the inspiration behind his Hot Cup designs, and of course, we got the low-down on what NZ hospo spots he misses the most!

Hey Mike, can you please tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hey, yeah I’m the Senior Designer here at decent packaging. I’ve been with decent from early on, from working in our warehouse and moving to the customer service team, and eventually heading up design. I’ve been living in London since 2019 after moving from Auckland and have continued to work with decent since. I love the specialty coffee scene, and the continued changes happening in the food and beverage scene have always interested me.

How did you get into design?

I was always interested in album art growing up, I used to make album covers for burned compilation albums I’d make and that interest in visuals in the music scene continued throughout high school. I thought I’d end up studying architecture, but it wasn’t until my final few years of school where I realised graphic design was more suited to me, so that’s the field I studied in.

If you could describe your design style in three words, what would they be?

Clear, clean and considered.

We could be a little bit biased, but we absolutely love the design you created for our latest Compostable Canvas. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind it?

I’ve always liked the idea of something so simple as a coffee cup being the source of interaction for people’s day. The conversation with the barista, or heading out for a coffee to catch up or have a chat with mates. I wanted these designs to encourage conversation and also interaction with the cup itself, whether that be turning the shapes into characters, or colouring in the space between shapes - i think coffee cups are just a great vessel for interacting with others.

Since you’ve created these designs for our Hot Cups, what’s your hot drink of choice? 

I'm going to have to opt for an oat milk flat white. 

Although you're based in the UK right now, you're a Kiwi, so tell us your which hospo spots here in NZ you miss the most!

I haven’t been back home in a few years, and there are some new spots I need to checkout when I’m back. When I was living in New Zealand, I’d regularly hit up The Bakers Cottage in Kingsland, Bestie Cafe K Road, and Goodness Gracious for The C.A.B Bagel!