The Design Village Launches India’s First Incubated Social Design Studio: The Centre for Social Design (C4SD)

New Delhi [India], July 1: The Design Village (TDV) announces the launch of the Centre for Social Design (C4SD), an independent, incubator-supported initiative. C4SD bridges the gap between design and the development sector by helping governments, NGOs, and institutions design better services, spaces, and systems with a human-centric approach.

Founded by TDV alumni Mayank Raj and Saansh Arora, along with Anna Noyons, social designer and founder of Ink Social Design, C4SD is a response to a growing urgency — the need for designers who reimagine systems. From rethinking public spaces to empowering craft communities, the studio is already working with eminent clients to create impact that is human-centred, data-informed, and culturally grounded.

In a first-of-its-kind move, C4SD’s incubation through TDV’s incubator, The Venture Village, marks a shift in how India incubates design — not around a product or service, but around a way of thinking and doing. The venture emerges from years of Indo-Dutch collaboration and is supported by mentorship from Ink Social Design Amsterdam, bringing global expertise to local transformation.

“The idea for C4SD began during our internship at Ink Social Design in Amsterdam,” says Mayank Raj, Co-founder. “We were researching why women feel unsafe in Delhi and realised the power of design not just as a visual tool, but as a way to understand ecosystems. With TDV’s support, we’ve been able to turn that insight into a working practice that partners with real communities to bring real change.”

What started as a student-led exploration has now evolved into a purpose-driven studio, taking on projects at scale. With TDV’s incubation — including infrastructure, mentorship, and client access — C4SD has already signed on for landmark projects: “We’re working on revitalising a railway ground in Patna through sustainable planning, creating digital literacy modules for women in Karnataka, and collaborating with the Dutch Embassy on inclusivity in development, among other projects in the pipeline,” says Saansh Arora, Co-founder.

“When I first met Mayank and Saansh, what stood out was their openness to learn and their hunger to engage with complexity,” says Anna Noyons, Co-founder. “They weren’t just asking what they could do — they were asking how design could matter. With C4SD, they are laying the foundation for what social design in India can become. I want them to become for social design in India what IDEO was for design thinking in the U.S. — but rooted in the realities of the Global South.”

The launch of C4SD also reaffirms TDV’s belief that design education must empower not just professionals, but changemakers.

“We often say at TDV: the world doesn’t just need better products, it needs better systems,” says Anusha Dhawan, Head of Impact at TDV. “By incubating C4SD, we’re investing in an ecosystem, not just an enterprise. Our goal is to back designers who dream beyond disciplines — and then give them the resources to build those dreams.”