Designer Darshita Patankar replaced a traditional CV with a bold short film titled DESIGN IS DEAD to pitch herself to potential employers. Showcasing her creative journey, typography skills, and storytelling, the film critiques the rise of generic AI designs.
Designer Darshita Patankar has found an unconventional way to stand out in a competitive job market. Instead of sending out a traditional CV and portfolio, she has created a film titled DESIGN IS DEAD to pitch herself to potential employers. The bold, pink-themed production has caught the attention of social media users, with many praising her creativity and filmmaking skills.
Introducing herself on X, Patankar wrote: “Hi, it’s Darshita. I am a designer. And I’m pitching myself in public ’cause I’m done with a year full of anxiety. Everyone says design is dead and AI killed it. But the real parasite was hiding in plain sight. So here’s my film, DESIGN IS DEAD. She’s bold, fearless and very PINK 💖 Hiring? My DMs are open.”
Watch the viral video here:
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In the film, Patankar traces her creative journey back to childhood drawings on MS Paint. She describes her imagination as a restless “cat running around in her head” and explains how she combines different artistic influences to create distinctive visual stories.
“Sometimes it starts with a simple whodunit. What if I place my friend inside two completely different visual worlds?” she says, describing how contrasting styles can make an audience pause and look closer. She also highlights her love for typography, revealing how she created her own typeface through repeated experimentation.
Patankar questions the growing acceptance of generic creative output in the age of AI. “Nowadays, ‘good enough’ is just a prompt away,” she says, warning that work that merely meets expectations could become the industry’s standard.
Her film has received an enthusiastic response online. One user wrote, “alright, at this ppoint, you should join A24 as movie director instead designer.” Another praised its production, saying, “This is a full Hollywood production to pitch 🥲 i love it !”
Others appreciated the effort and wished her success, while one viewer wrote, “Design will not be dead till we have folks like you around. Great going!”
Through DESIGN IS DEAD, Patankar has transformed a job search into a public showcase of her personality, storytelling and creative skills, opening up a conversation about what human imagination brings to design in an AI-driven world.