Congratulations to BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design Student of the Year 2026 joint award winners San San Liu and Heidi Jones! This award recognises the overall performance, approach to studying, and achievement of graduating students from the BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design Programme.

Judges noted, “Both of these students have been excellent, and have created highly successful design collections during their final year. They have both developed sophisticated portfolios in which they demonstrate technical expertise, market awareness, research skills, aesthetic sensitivity, and use of colour and imagery, and we could not choose between them. We are delighted to award the Textiles & Surface Design Student of the Year Award jointly to San San Liu and Heidi Jones.”

Award Winner Heidi Jones

Award Winner San San Liu

20-year-old Heidi Jones, who joined our textiles degree after studying at our college-level campus, said, “I felt honoured to win the Textiles Student of the Year Award. It means a lot to me to have my hard work and creativity recognised, and I feel so grateful to have been awarded this achievement.”

Heidi describes her graduate collection, ‘Unbound’, which was displayed alongside San San’s work at this year’s Degree Show 2026, as “a celebration of life, colour, and the visual richness of the tropical world. The concept of ‘Unbound’ is used as a release from constraint, both conceptually and visually. This idea draws directly from the immersive and expansive qualities of tropical landscapes, where growth is continuous, organic, and unconstrained – forms overlap, intertwine, and evolve freely. In response, my designs embrace dense compositions, layered motifs, and intricate details to echo this sense of natural abundance. I deliberately explore unexpected, unnatural colour within my designs to reimagine the natural world through a maximalist lens, reinforcing my concept and pushing beyond realism to create bold, expressive designs that celebrate freedom, imagination, and visual intensity.”

Heidi is joined in this prestigious award by mature student San San Liu, 52 years old, from Durham. Speaking of winning the award, San San said she was, “Thrilled that I won. Everybody’s work was of an incredibly high standard, so I’m very grateful and surprised.”

Reflecting on her time on the course, San San said, “The course taught me digital art skills, such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and this will allow me to take my creativity further as a multi-disciplinary designer. During my time on the course, I have developed my own handwriting that I will continue to implement as an artist.”

Speaking of her experience on her course, Heidi said, “My past three years studying Textiles & Surface Design have been amazing – I have learnt so much throughout the course and covered such a wide range of skills and areas. I have discovered my love for print and learnt the skills I need to turn this into my profession. My favourite memory has definitely been building the degree show – it’s been amazing seeing everyone’s hard work come together and how much everyone has grown as creatives over the past three years. The work is so varied and interesting, which shows the variety of skills and opportunities within textiles.”

“My advice to future students would be to just try everything – there are so many different skills you can learn. The facilities are amazing, so make the most of them whilst you are here. Just put your all into the course and you will find your strengths and place as a designer.”

“Show up no matter how hard,” advises San San. “Use all the facilities, try out new techniques. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; you’ll always be supported by the tutors.”

San San said her favourite thing about studying at the school has been “the community, from receptionists, canteen staff, tutors, and technicians to my course mates. A very happy place!”

See more of our Award winners work on Instagram – @heidialicedesign @sansanliudesigns! You can check out Heidi’s Arts Thread portfolio here.

Interested in studying textiles at degree level? Make sure you check out our exciting and innovative degree BA (Hons) Textiles & Surface Design degree which offers students exceptional studios, workshops, industry links and resources. Find out more HERE