Carbon
Cohort W25
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.
- 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.
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!
- 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.
- A stipend of ₹15k-₹30k.
- Invaluable industry experience.
- Opportunity to work on any innovative idea that you want to develop.
- 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.
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.
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
All submissions will be judged based on:
- Innovative Thinking: Originality and creativity in approaching the challenge.
- Contextual Relevance: How well the solution addresses future scenarios and challenges.
- Potential Impact: The transformative potential of the proposed solution.
- Skillset: Design proficiency and execution quality in the chosen design discipline.
Once you have completed a design challenge, please fill out this form and attach a PDF file or a link to your submission in the form.
You are free to use whatever you design for your portfolio. We look forward to seeing your vision for the future of food. All the best!
