For the curious, the bold, and the becoming
WHAT IS CARBON COHORT?
Carbon Cohort is a 6-month internship program by Studio Carbon, designed to nurture emerging design talent. It's your gateway to working on cutting-edge projects, learning from industry experts, and kickstarting your career in design!
As part of this Cohort, you will join one of our design teams at Studio Carbon. Under the able guidance and mentorship of our senior designers, you will get to work on:
- Live client projects across various sectors.
- Any self-initiated design project that you wish to take forward.
WHAT IS CARBON COHORT?
Carbon Cohort is a 6-month internship program by Studio Carbon, initiated as a way to nurture emerging design talent. It's your gateway to working on cutting-edge projects, learning from experienced designers and shaping the future of design with your own hands and heart.
WHO IS IT FOR?
- Final year design students looking for a Graduation Project.
- Recent design graduates who wish to work on future-ready client projects.
- Design enthusiasts ready to dive into the professional world.
In this Cohort, you'll join one of our core design teams - Industrial Design, Communication Design, or UI/UX Design, and get the opportunity to work on:
Live client projects across deep tech, healthcare, automation, sustainability and more
Self-initiated, exploratory projects that excite you
And most importantly, build a bold and thoughtful design philosophy
WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY?
To start off, we have designed the challenges such that they push you to think and design with speculative futures. You can add your work on any of these challenges to your portfolio. So if nothing else, you get a cool new project under your name!
Before you join the Cohort
- Top 30 entries receive an appreciation certificate by the reviewing team at Studio Carbon.
- Top 10 entries will be featured across our socials and blog.
- The top 5 will be selected for the Carbon Cohort and receive an offer letter for a paid internship at Studio Carbon.
Once you join the Cohort
- A stipend of ₹15k-₹30k.
- Invaluable industry experience.
- Opportunity to work on any innovative idea that you want to develop.
After you successfully complete the Cohort
- A Carbon Cohort certificate along with an LOR.
- You’ll become a part of the growing Carbon design network.
- A potential full-time employment at Studio Carbon.
- If you have the entrepreneur mindset, you’ll get a chance to be a part of our Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program to incubate your design venture with us.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
This program is open to:
Final-year design students
looking for a Graduation Project
Recent design graduates
looking for real-world experience
All passionate designers
ready to step into the profession
WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY?
To start off, we have designed the application process in a way that it pushes you to think and design with interesting and experimental briefs. So if nothing else, you get to flex your design muscles and add a cool new project under your name!
Additionally, there are many benefits of applying:
Before
- Opportunity to build your portfolio with compelling and experimental design briefs
- Top 10 entries receive a Certificate of Appreciation and will be featured on our Socials
- Top applicants will receive an offer for a paid internship at Studio Carbon
During
- Paid internship with a stipend of ₹15,000-₹30,000/month
- Hands-on experience on impactful, future-facing design work
- A space to experiment with ideas that matter to you
After
- A Cohort Completion Certificate + Letter of Recommendation
- Access to the Carbon Design Network and future opportunities
- Consideration for full-time roles at Studio Carbon
Cohort Stories
The studio creates a space that values individuality, encourages exploration and nurtures growth. The mentorship, culture and openness to diverse thought make it a truly unique learning environment
My time at Studio Carbon has offered some of the most rewarding learning experiences. The studio and its people have consistently encouraged honing informed convictions, taking leaps of faith, and being an independent thinker.
The freedom to shape your own path, combined with incredible mentorship and a culture that thrives on experimentation, made it unlike anything else. If you're excited by emerging tech and want to design for what's next, this is where you want to be.
Important Dates
Application Deadline
November 15, 2024
Review & Interviews
November 16, 2024 - November 30, 2024
Shortlist Announcement
December 1, 2024
Cohort Commencement
January 1, 2025
May 15th
Application deadline
May 16th - May 31st
Review & Interviews
June 1st
Final shortlist announcement
July 1st - Dec. 31st
Cohort duration
How to apply?
Choose one of the three sub-challenges below
01
Attempt to solve using any one design discipline: ID, CD, or UI/UX
02
Submit your work as a PDF or shareable link in the application form
03
Cohort 2.0
In Between Feels
Designing for Emotional Complexity in the Age of Disconnection
Designing for Emotional Complexity in the Age of Disconnection
In an increasingly digital and fast-paced world, emotional depth has taken a back seat. While technology makes us more connected than ever, many of us find ourselves struggling to express, process and navigate the full spectrum of human emotions. Social awkwardness, shortened attention spans, and a fragile sense of belonging are everyday realities now.
This year's Carbon Cohort Design Challenge invites you to explore these modern emotional states. Through design, can we build tools, experiences or narratives that help people reconnect with themselves and with one another?
Challenges
Reimagine the future of food through the various lenses of design. Each sub-challenge focuses on a unique aspect of this theme, allowing you to showcase your creativity, imagination and design skills.
Pick one of the following sub-challenges and respond to it through Industrial Design, Communication Design or UI/UX Design.
THE FUTURE OF FOOD IN A POST-SCARCITY WORLD
Imagine a world where traditional agriculture has been revolutionised by technology, making food scarcity a thing of the past. However, this abundance brings new challenges:
- Ensuring balanced nutrition in a world of plenty.
- Maintaining trust in food sources and production methods.
- Preserving culinary traditions and community connections to food.
Your task is to address these challenges through innovative design solutions, with each sub-challenge tackling a specific aspect of this future.
Sub-Challenge 1: Industrial Design
One Line Brief
Design a Nutrition Management System for homes in 2050.
Context
In 2050, food abundance has led to concerns about balanced nutrition and health optimization. People struggle to maintain a balanced diet amidst unlimited food choices.
Scope
- Create a product/system that ensures optimal nutrition for individuals and families.
- Consider how the system can guide users towards balanced diets while allowing for personal preferences and occasional indulgences.
Deliverables
- A brief writeup of your design choices and how they address the brief.
- Visuals that convey the solution, in a medium of choice.
- Story board of the product/system: Day in the life of the user.
What we are looking for
- Lateral thinking approaches.
- Speculative yet Plausible futures.
- Extrapolation of current & upcoming trends that hint at the designed solution.
Sub-Challenge 2: Communication Design
One Line Brief
Create a brand identity for a global food trust and traceability system in 2050.
Context
In 2050, despite food abundance, concerns about food origins, safety, and production methods have increased. People seek transparency and assurance about their food choices.
Scope
- Develop a brand system that conveys trust and provides transparency in the global food supply chain.
- Consider how the brand will be applied across various future mediums.
- Consider how to communicate complex information about food sources, production methods, and sustainability to diverse audiences.
Deliverables
- A brief writeup explaining your concept and how it addresses the challenge.
- Visual design system of your brand identity.
- Visualisation of scenarios depicting how your brand system can be applied in different touchpoints of the food chain.
What we are looking for
- Conceptual thinking in branding for trust.
- Design versatility across various mediums.
- Effective visual communication of complex information.
- Attention to details.
Sub-Challenge 3: UI/UX Design
One Line Brief
Design an Interface or a Digital Experience for Culinary Heritage and Community Building in 2050.
Context
In 2050, rapid technological advancements and globalization threaten to erode diverse culinary traditions and communal eating practices. There's a growing need to preserve food heritage, celebrate diversity, and foster community connections through shared culinary experiences in an increasingly digital world.
Scope
- Conceptualise an interface / digital experience that helps preserve, share, and celebrate diverse food cultures while fostering community connections.
- Consider how to make traditional cooking methods and cultural food knowledge accessible and appealing to future generations.
- Explore ways to facilitate shared eating experiences and build communities around traditional recipes and food practices, even in a highly digital environment.
Deliverables
- A brief writeup of your interface / experience concept and how it addresses the challenge.
- High-fidelity mockups of 3 key screens / interfaces / experience touch points which aptly communicate the concept & key features.
- Prototype of key interactions. (Optional)
What we are looking for
- Forward-thinking application of emerging technologies.
- Cultural sensitivity and inclusivity in design.
- Visual design skills for advanced UI concep.ts
Challenge 01
Design for Awkwardness
SOCIAL DISCONNECT
We all know that gut-churning moment. Forgetting someone's name five minutes after being introduced, not knowing how to console a friend, or accidentally waving back at someone who wasn't waving at you. In a world where social interactions are increasingly rare, filtered, or superficial, awkwardness has become a common emotional state.
YOUR TASK:
Create a design intervention that reduces the friction of social awkwardness. Help people feel more confident, empathetic or at ease in the real world.
Challenge 02
Design for Impatience
TEMPORAL DISCONNECT
Lines feel longer, waiting feels harder, and silence feels unbearable. As attention spans shrink and dopamine-fueled interfaces take over, boredom is seen as a bug, not a feature. As a result, patience is a skill we're rapidly unlearning.
YOUR TASK:
Design a product, experience or interface that builds or celebrates patience. How might we reintroduce slowness, anticipation or presence into everyday life?
Challenge 03
Design for Belonging
COMMUNAL DISCONNECT
Today, we crave community more than ever. Our identity is tied to the tribe we associate ourselves with. Yet meaningful belonging often feels just out of reach. From fandoms, faith and national identity to niche internet fan followings, people are trying to find where they fit in. But in this search, they may also experience alienation, polarization or identity overwhelm.
YOUR TASK:
Imagine a design solution that helps people feel a stronger, healthier sense of belonging, without losing individuality or empathy for others.
You can respond to any one sub-challenge using any one of the following design disciplines. Please go through the expectations based on the discipline you choose.
