A former professional surfer, Carson ranked #9 in the world during his college days. Now considered one of America's most influential designers, numerous groups including the New York Type Directors Club, American Center for Design and I.D. magazine have recognized his studio's work. Carson and his designs have been featured in over 180 magazine and newspaper articles around the world, including a feature in Newsweek magazine, and a front page article in the New York Times. He was recently ranked fifth in Graphic Design:USA for "most influential designer of the era" and third "most influential today." London-based Creative Review magazine dubbed Carson "Art Director of the Era." The American Center for Design (Chicago) called his work on Ray Gun magazine "the most important work coming out of America." His work on Beach Culture magazine won "Best Overall Design" and "Cover of the Year" from the Society of Publication Designers in NY.

Carson's first book, with Lewis Blackwell, The End of Print, is the top selling graphic design book of all time, selling over 200,000 copies and printed in 5 different languages. Carson's other titles include 2nd Sight, Fotografiks (with design historian Philip Meggs). He has two recently released books, TREK and The Book of Probes with Marshall McLuhan. He has an extensive list of international clients including Nine Inch Nails, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Bank of Montreal, Microsoft, Quiksilver, Meg Ryan, David Byrne, Bush, Pepsi and Xerox.

He currently serves as Creative Director for the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston and maintains studios in NYC and Charleston, NC