A Speculative Design Challenge
This is your multiverse moment. Design a future that blows minds. Get spotted by top design mentors, hiring pros, and innovation legends. Your idea could light up the stage, win hearts, open doors, and maybe even change how we see value, money, and meaning.
The world is changing fast — and 25 years from now, it could look radically different. Countries may reconfigure. Economies might merge, split, or dissolve. Climate change, AI, space tech, geopolitics, all could reshape how we live, earn, spend, and connect.
We want your vision of the future of currency, and the world that makes it real. This is not just about design. It’s about dreaming, rethinking, world-building. You don’t need to be a design student — just a curious, creative thinker ready to stretch your imagination.
Let your imagination run wild and free. Is it still made of notes and coins? Purely digital? Tattooed, sung, or sensed? Does currency mean money, or something more — trust, emotion, reputation, energy, attention? Is it earned through labor, learning, or empathy? We want bold ideas and deep design imagination. And your take on the Future of Currency.
Get seen by design leaders, influencers, hiring managers and innovation heads
Build credibility and add serious
weight to your portfolio
Unlock new opportunities,
internships, mentorships
(it’s happened before at DesignUp!)
Be featured in DesignUp’s social channels, poster wall and the conference gallery
A free pass to attend DesignUp 2025
A DesignUp Futures Certificate
Social media shoutouts and recognition
Display at the Futures Showcase wall
Live (or online) on the main stage at DesignUp 2025 in November, sharing their vision with 1000+ curious and plugged-in attendees.
Supported by
futur2 Studio, Berlin
This challenge is open to:
Full-time students (any discipline),
Young Designers, recent Grads (within 2 years)
Only individual entries allowed.
Group submissions will not be considered.
Your ideas will be reviewed by an international jury of design leaders, creative directors, educators, strategists, and innovation experts — people who shape products, systems, and storytelling at scale. They come from diverse geographies and disciplines — and they’re united by a love for original thinking, bold imagination, and thoughtful design.
In short:
Your work will be seen, discussed, and appreciated by some of the sharpest minds in the field.
Submit online by 11:59pm IST.
Late entries will not be accepted.
It’s short, sharp, simple. You’ll see soon. Meanwhile, don’t let that stop you from getting started on imagining the world of 2050.
We’ll notify you when the Challenge goes live (in the next few days)
