Carson and his work 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. 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 New York.

In 1993, David Carson won the International Center of Photography's INFINITY DESIGN Award