Bishop Design


Designer in Profile: Paul Bishop, Owner & Founder of Bishop Design

Name: Paul BishopBishop Design
Company: Bishop Design LLC
Position within company: Owner & Founder
Website: www.wearebishopdesign.com

Tell us a little about your background in design (education, experience, etc)
From a young age art had always been at the forefront of my interests and passions, however my education didn’t necessarily start with interior design. In my teenage years I attended Brighton school of art and immersed myself in as many differing areas of design as possible including fashion, theatre, textiles, graphics, furniture and product design with the aspiration of someday becoming a film set designer. Then whilst studying furniture and product design at Kingston university, where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree, I was exposed to the interesting and exciting beginnings of interior design (it didn’t exist on such a large scale as it does nowadays) and I realized this is where I wanted to build my career.

How would you describe your personal interior design style?
I always design with the goal of producing something that is current and unique. Our creations at Bishop Design LLC are original, not paste and stick which you see far too much of these days. It is difficult to adequately describe my own personal design style, as I am constantly learning and evolving as a designer. I am constantly exposed to different clients whom have differing visions, styles and narratives for their venues so I am continuously adapting and implementing new found knowledge into my interiors. However, to some degree I do believe all of the recent venues worked on share a common synergy and narrative between them – that of being raw, urban and perhaps even slightly provocative. I enjoy being adventurous and playful whilst designing, which I believe to be somewhat evident in each venue and is hopefully what sets me apart from other designers.

Where does your design inspiration come from?
As a designer I absorb inspiration consciously and sub-consciously from all mediums including that of film, theatre, music and art. This is the main reason why travel is also a great passion of mine. I love immersing myself into different cultures and demographics as I am exposed to a multitude of infinite possibilities and ideas that I may not find elsewhere. In the studio we also use a variety of social media platforms for our initial inspiration and concept generation, although these are only to be interpreted loosely. We do not copy or repeat designs which I believe keeps us ahead of the game, and allows us to be as diverse and as current as we can be.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?
Clients are becoming more aware of the market and in turn are becoming increasingly more bold and dynamic in their way of thinking.  Especially in the MENA region – everything is “bigger and better” than the last. Boundaries are dissolving, with projects currently under development that exceed the visions of commercial and hospitality venues undertaken previously. We are moving into an era of the highest creativity and innovation thanks to technological advances and the increasing use of social media. The likes of Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest are educating Clients and us as designers to the competition, meaning that we are constantly expanding our ideologies to produce unique designs that have yet to be experienced.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in the future.

  1. The end consumer should always be at the forefront of our minds when designing. When designing a space, I always contemplate on how the user will interact with it. Design elements such as texture, materials, lighting and furniture all effect user interaction, so all have to be thoughtfully and carefully approached. It is essential that the space is functional and easily accessible, in addition to being visually dynamic.
    2. The environment is a key theme when thinking for the future. Ever increasing global environmental issues have created greater public awareness of sustainable materials, which we must also consider when designing as the implementation of them will consequently lower the environmental impact of our venues.
  2. With increasing advancements in technology including that of 3D printing and the wide use of Virtual Reality (VR) within the commercial, hospitality and retail sectors it would be impossible not to consider and integrate this into future designs.
  3. Youth are the future so they undoubtedly need to be an essential consideration when designing. The millennials are impatient yet knowledgeable customers, therefore spaces need to be functional and adhere to their high expectations. The high impact and use of social media makes venues very easy to compare against one another, therefore we are already competing before even commencing upon the design.
  4. In my mind, the experience created always has and always will be the most important element when approaching interior design.

If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to interior design schemes, what would it be?
Always continue to embrace the ability to learn.

How important are The International Hotel & Property Awards as recognition of talent and achievement?
To be recognized by the leading industry magazine Design et Al is a great testament to both our work and our firm as a whole. The International Hotel & Property awards has become a hugely renowned awarding body on a global scale, and to submit a selection of our projects to such a prestigious organization is a great honor. No other awarding body optimizes the true excellence of the interior design world in the same fashion as Design Et Al, that be through their promotion of healthy competition, and in their celebration of diverse projects from across all continents. A nonpareil organization whose recognition benefits our growth in the market on, not just a regional, but on an international scale.

What projects are you currently working on?
It has been a challenging but with no doubt an extremely exciting and successful year for us. We have substantially migrated naturally into the hospitality sector through the development of hotel projects for Clients including Accor, Hilton, Marriot, Rotana and W hotels. We are also currently working on a mix of small home-grown boutique hotels as well as larger branded ones. F&B has always consumed a large proportion of our portfolio so we are unsurprisingly working on a number of innovative and aspirational dining concepts including world renowned chef Massimo Bottura’s restaurant Torno Subito,  the Dolce Sky development across the 70th and 71st floors in the Address Boulevard hotel consisting of restaurants by chefs Hide Yamamomo and Jerome Lagarde, the first Ketch Up Burgers venue brought to Dubai located on Bluewater island and a variety of other food and beverage outlets across Dubai and the GCC region. Our current international projects to highlight would be Caramel Restaurant and Lounge in London after successfully developing various outlets within the region, as well as three new restaurants in Paris for celebrated chef Jean-Edern Hurstel.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?
We have established Bishop Design LLC as a leading interior design consultancy within the region, and although we design for international brands we aim to become increasingly recognised on a global scale. My aim is to open representative offices in Miami, New York, LA and Asia, so you never know…2018 may just be the year!

An exciting journey has also begun with the development of a new brand offering – ‘Rogue.’ We aim to set up a new company with fresher, younger and more current ideologies. Still sympathetic to the Bishop Design brand, developing designs of the upmost quality, however immersing ourselves into new directions including branding, brand ideation and architecture with the ultimate goal of offering a one-stop-shop for various design and media needs. It is a really exciting, adventurous yet challenging chapter that will take dedication and time, but I am awaiting our next movement with the upmost eagerness and anticipation.

Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself and your daily inspirations:

Your most treasured possession?
My Le Corbusier Chaise Longue!

Your favourite hotel, restaurant & bar?
Public in New York / Tickets / Purl

Your favourite book, film & song?
Questions of Space / Blade Runner / Mad World

Your favourite food and drink?
Steak tartar (my favourite one so far was from Tartar-ia in Lisbon, Portugal) and a fine whiskey on the rocks

Your favourite way to spend an afternoon?
Good drinks, great food and amazing friends

If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
A Rockstar!

Anything else interesting?
Loving this years 80s revival, from the high-street to Hollywood!

Bishop Design


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