Good Clean Design – Izzard Design

Established in Auckland 25 years ago, Izzard Design creates welcoming atmospheres conducive to having a darn good time with friends and family. The multi-award-winning studio works across residential, retail and hospitality sectors, but it’s the latter where the studio has made an indelible mark.

An Izzard interior radiates a richness of materiality, skilled craftsmanship and the comforting feeling that it is built to last.

“We’ve designed over 300 venues, though I’ve been saying 300 for a long time now, so it’s probably closer to 400,” says Paul Izzard, the UK-born Founder and Design Director. With an average of 30 projects on the board at any given time, the team is intentionally small at a current count of 10. “That’s the way we like it,” Paul offers. “I’ve never been interested in running a massive machine. We want to be very involved with our clients, and I like to have my hand across all the projects.”

A high rate of repeat clients illustrates the value of Izzard Design’s all-in approach to relationships. The success of the MoVida Auckland project – which opened in 2022 as the first international outpost of the iconic Melbourne tapas restaurant – has resulted in Paul and his team winning the commission to upgrade MoVida Aqui in Melbourne’s CBD. “We’re really proud of that. Not that we want to take any work away from Australian design firms, of course!”

“A client said once about their finished project, ‘I can see it wearing in and not wearing out,’ and we’ve used that as a bit of a mantra as we’ve gone on,” Paul shares.

The Izzard Design office in Ponsonby is housed in a classic bay villa that dates back to 1908, resplendent with the hallmark period details of ornate fretwork, gabled rooflines and bay windows. “It’s beautiful and is still standing because it was built properly. We try to recreate that approach in all of our projects,” says Paul, who began his career working on hospitality fit-outs in heritage buildings across Europe.

An Izzard interior radiates a richness of materiality, skilled craftsmanship and the comforting feeling that it is built to last; this authenticity is an appealing proposition for patrons and operators. “A client said once about their finished project, ‘I can see it wearing in and not wearing out,’ and we’ve used that as a bit of a mantra as we’ve gone on,” Paul shares.

The spirit of Izzard Design is charged by a deep-set appreciation of hospitality’s ability to bring people together for a quality experience.

Hesitant to pin an aesthetic on the practice, Paul concedes they create with a modern blend of heritage and minimalism. “We look at ourselves as being a contemporary agency, but contemporary doesn’t just mean minimalist to us,” he says. “I cut my teeth on heritage, and I believe heritage injects quality, so the question becomes ‘how do you combine that with beautiful minimalist lines? How do you add the layering and visual interest to create intrigue and mystery in a hospitality setting?’”

Perfectly positioned lighting and comfortable seating. Seamless layouts. Handcrafted embellishments and tactile surfaces. Details like these enliven an Izzard interior and are observed in myriad hotspots across Auckland, including Bar Non Solo, Bivacco, The Shy Guy and MoVida. “As we are designing, we ask ourselves ‘would we visit this place? Would we want to experience it?’ If the answer is no, we don’t do it,” Paul reveals. “We also ask ourselves ‘what is the cleverest way to do this for the operator?’

Decades of experience have cemented Paul’s innate understanding of the operational requirements for a food and beverage establishment. During this career span, he has also witnessed the shifting landscape of Auckland’s hospitality design scene, most recently in its bounce back from the covid-induced downturn. Like never before, vibrant destination bars and restaurants form crucial elements in a city’s marketing and tourism strategy. “We are now working with many hotel groups that are reinventing themselves after realising how important a great hospitality offering is to attract guests,” says Paul.

The spirit of Izzard Design is charged by a deep-set appreciation of hospitality’s ability to bring people together for a quality experience. As Paul explains, “we love socialising, we love food and drink, and we love a good design that encapsulates those things. When you wrap what you do for a living around that, you really get to enjoy it and see others enjoy it too. It’s just a lot of fun, isn’t it!”