2026 Winner Florence Barnby
Meet the 2026 Colour in Design Award Winner: Florence Barnby
Loughborough University Textile Design graduate Florence Barnby has been named the winner of the Colour in Design Award 2026.
Her innovative graduate project explores a more colourful and expressive future for sustainable materials, bringing together waste coffee grounds, biodegradable bioplastics and bold, saturated colour.
“I feel so truly overwhelmed with gratitude to have been recognised by judges whose passion and expression of colour I admire so deeply.”
A colourful material revolution
At the heart of Florence’s project is a collection of biodegradable tiles created using waste coffee grounds and finished with experimental bioplastic glazes.
Through extensive material testing and iterative prototyping, Florence combined vegetable glycerine, agar agar and gelatine to produce flexible materials that mimic some of the qualities of conventional plastic, without relying on petrochemicals.
Rather than simply attempting to replicate existing plastics, Florence wanted these new materials to establish an expressive identity of their own. Her experiments produced an exciting range of gloss, translucent, pearlescent and layered surface finishes.
Under the correct composting conditions, the finished materials biodegrade in approximately 90 days.
Developed for imagined club interiors, the collection demonstrates how experimental bioplastics could offer an exciting new direction for colour, material and finish innovation.
Challenging the visual language of sustainability
Colour plays a central role in Florence’s practice. Biodegradable materials are often associated with earthy, neutral palettes, reinforcing the misconception that sustainability and bold colour cannot coexist.
Florence’s work challenges that perception.
Through saturated colour, depth and surface experimentation, she has created a new visual language for environmentally conscious design. Her collection demonstrates that biodegradable materials do not have to limit creative expression. Instead, they can be vivid, playful and visually arresting.
Inspired by the plastics boom
Florence’s project takes inspiration from the excitement surrounding the plastics boom of the 1980s, a bold and highly saturated cultural revolution that transformed the visual landscape.
As technology continues to advance, Florence believes we are long overdue an accompanying material revolution. Her work aims to recapture that same sense of possibility and excitement, this time centred around sustainable, biodegradable and bio-based materials.
Embracing experimentation
The most fulfilling part of Florence’s creative process is exploring the relationship between colour, materiality and experimentation.
She is fascinated by the way a single colour can transform across different finishes, from soft matte surfaces to luminous pearlescence. Each variation reveals a new visual language and an entirely different material character.
Unexpected reactions are not simply obstacles within Florence’s process. They are often where the most exciting discoveries begin.
“My most fulfilling creative processes often come from embracing the unpredictable.”
A full-circle creative moment
Florence describes exhibiting at New Designers and receiving recognition from the CIDA judges as the greatest highlight of her creative journey so far.
The experience became even more meaningful when she met Laura Perryman, whose work Florence had referenced in her A Level Extended Project Qualification four years earlier.
Going from studying Laura’s research while hoping to attend university, to discussing her own graduate work with her, felt like a true full-circle moment.
Florence also found it incredibly rewarding to see others connect with the results of her experimentation. After countless failed samples, late nights and adjustments to the process, seeing a new material finally behave as hoped made the challenges worthwhile.
Learning from the material
One of the most difficult parts of the project was navigating the dehydration process.
Florence would create samples with exactly the surface texture and finish she wanted, only for them to shrink as they dried and lose their sleek appearance.
Although frustrating, the process helped her develop a deeper understanding of the materials. Over time, she learned to anticipate how they would react and incorporate those changes into her design decisions.
That growing dialogue between designer and material ultimately made the experimentation even more rewarding.
Looking to the future
Over the next three years, Florence hopes to establish herself within the creative industries and continue exploring the relationship between colour, materials and sustainability.
She would love to work on projects that allow her to experiment, collaborate with other creatives and push sustainable materials into new territory.
Above all, Florence wants to keep developing her own creative voice while contributing to ideas that feel both exciting and meaningful.
Florence’s favourite colour
Florence’s favourite colour is hot pink, although her relationship with it has changed considerably over time.
“When I was a little girl, I used to say, ‘I hate pink.’ I think I associated it with the version of femininity I was told to perform, which felt limiting rather than freeing.”
Today, Florence sees pink as vivid, alive and full of contradictions. It can be soft yet powerful, playful yet provocative, delicate yet bold.
Hot pink is the shade she is most drawn to because of its saturated, electric intensity.
“There is something unapologetic about it that I find healing.”
About Florence Barnby
Florence studied BA (Hons) Textile Design at Loughborough University, where she was taught by Jennifer Dranttel and Camilla Clayfield.
Follow Florence’s work on Instagram: @textilesbyflorence
Contact: florrie.barnby@gmail.com
