When Stefan Sagmeister founded his solo design studio in New York in 1993, he sent out a promotional postcard featuring a photo of himself wearing nothing but dress socks. These days, there's a plethora of digital platforms available, but getting the attention of potential clients can be more difficult than ever. There's competition not just from other designers, but AI. And Instagram doesn't allow full-frontal nudity.
Still, a designer has managed to get massive attention on social media this week for a single striking calling card: a highly polished film shot in 8K with a full crew and Barbieland sound stage. The scale of the production has some other designers wondering if making a movie trailer is what it takes to find work these days, but the video's real takeaway is in the content more than the format.
Darshita Patankar is a visual designer and illustrator based in Bengaluru. After what she describes as "a year full of anxiety" amid frustration around the impact of AI, she decided to pitch herself to potential clients in a different way. Instead of persevering with a traditional portfolio site and social posts of previous work, she enlisted her brother Vikrant to produce a sleek four-minute film showcasing her skills and personality, and they really pulled out the stops
"Everyone says design is dead and AI killed it. But the real parasite was hiding in plain sight," is Darshita's hook at the start of Design is Dead. She goes on to discuss her early introduction to design via MS Paint, how that curiosity still influences her work today, the importance of storytelling and specific projects, including how she created a typeface and her visual design work on the Codebusters game.
She also presents an argument for the importance of design itself, not as a mere output but as something that should be at the core of the decision-making process for any brand.
Within less than a day, the video had received nearly 3 million views on X and thousands of likes and comments on Instagram and LinkedIn. It's also generating a debate about the lengths graphic designers need to go to promote themselves in 2026.
Will clients expect every designer to make a 'Hollywood-level' video pitch? No, but Darshita has demonstrated how any designer can make an impression; not necessarily through the same format but through the authenticity of the presentation. The production values on Design is Dead are impressive, but what stands out most is the designer's personality, creativity, and the memorability of the pitch, which is what will really attract clients.
Sign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.
The film shows how, at a time when everyone's worried about AI's impact on the industry, designers can stand out by showcasing storytelling and craft in surprising ways, and most of all by being themselves. You might not have a film crew, but you might find another way of showing the world who you are, whether it's with physical flyers on lampposts, engaging social media content or sending out nudes.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.