Barney’s Story

“They’ll give you feedback on what you’re doing and they’re really helpful with the creative process.”

Subjects studied:
UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

Former school:
Newquay Tretherras

What’s next:
Developing his surfboard shaping business and exploring creative career opportunities.

For Barney, creativity has always been part of who he is.

Growing up in Newquay and studying Art at school, he knew he wanted to continue developing his creative skills, but he wasn’t completely sure where he wanted them to take him.

The UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design provided the perfect next step.

“It’s quite a good next step, especially if you’re not sure what you want to do next,” Barney explained. “It helps you explore a lot of creative practices that you don’t necessarily get to do at A Level.”

The course gave Barney the freedom to experiment with a wide range of disciplines and discover new creative interests.

“When I came here, I got to experiment with graphic design, film, surfboard making and a lot of different mediums I hadn’t previously had the chance to use.”

One of the biggest discoveries was film photography, a medium he had never explored before joining the course.

“I picked up film photography, which I’d never done before, and you can process film here. It’s nice to play with those different processes because they’re all some of my favourite processes now.”

The opportunity to explore different creative pathways allowed Barney to combine his artistic interests with one of his biggest passions: surfing.

He used the course to develop a project centred around surfboard design and making, taking an interest he had previously explored at home and developing it into a deeper creative investigation.

“I started by making a surfboard. I’d done it before a bit, but I wanted to really hone those skills.”

The project evolved far beyond simply creating a board. Barney explored the history of surfboard design, branding, logo development and visual storytelling.

“I was looking at ways to create a design on the board, looking at logo design for branding and then made a surf film from a trip I took to Indonesia.”

The Foundation Diploma encouraged Barney to think creatively across multiple disciplines, helping him bring together practical making, design and filmmaking into one ambitious project.

Throughout his time on the course, Barney found the support of lecturers invaluable in helping him develop his ideas.

“They’re all really supportive. They love art and they definitely show that through their enthusiasm.”

He particularly valued having experienced creative professionals around him to challenge and refine his thinking.

“If you have an idea, they’re really good to bounce ideas off. They’ll give you feedback on what you’re doing and they’re really helpful with the creative process.”

Being surrounded by other creative students also helped Barney feel part of a community where experimentation and individuality were encouraged.

The course gave him the confidence to see that creativity could be more than a hobby; it could become a career.

“When I realised you could make a career out of being creative, there wasn’t really much to draw me back into the academic side.”

Now, Barney is continuing to build on the skills and experience he has developed at College.

“I’m currently trying to build a setup at home to take surfboard shaping a little bit further, potentially as a career option.”

His journey demonstrates how the UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design can help students discover their direction, explore new possibilities and gain the confidence to pursue what they love. From Newquay to Indonesia and beyond, Barney’s story shows where creativity, passion and opportunity can lead.