Barribal began his career as a lithographer before going on to study at the Académie Julian in Paris. By the turn of the 20th century he was well established as a commercial painter and designer. He worked prolifically illustrating fashion magazines, including Vogue and during the Great War he created a series of images for British Army recruitment posters. During the 1920s and 1930s he created a range of designs for the Schweppes advertising campaign and in 1921 he was contracted to work for Waddingtons, producing work for posters and later a series of playing cards. His bold Art Deco posters designed in 1920s and 1930s for the London and North Eastern Railway are also well known. Barribal settled in London, taking a studio on the Cromwell Road.
