Inside DC Design Week’s Bold Step Into Film, Media And AI Innovation – Blavity
DC Design Week just wrapped its 18th year, and it showcased the evolution of technology, with an emphasis on rising to the occasion to meet the current changes in the world.
This year’s theme, Unparalleled Pathways, expanded upon how we define pushing the boundaries of authorship in Black film and media. It was the first time in the event’s history that the sector was centered during the week-long festival.
“Design has always been about more than what we see on a screen or page,” Robbie Stanfield, deputy chair of DC Design Week, told Blavity.
“It’s how we tell stories, shape perception, and imagine new possibilities. Over the past few years, DC Design Week has expanded to include architecture, food, fashion, and other creative disciplines because those fields share a commitment to shaping experiences and provoking ideas,” she continued. “Adding film felt like a natural evolution of that. There’s an incredible amount of design and intention that happens behind the camera, from narrative structure to set design to sound. This year, we wanted to acknowledge those creative systems and invite even more disciplines into the conversation.”
Photo: Trevon Henderson
Exploring AI technology as a cinematic tool
At this year’s DC Design Week, attendees had the opportunity to screen GEN-SYNTH, a short film created by the Black-led creative agency Vega Studio. The studio is exploring the use of artificial intelligence as a tool in filmmaking, and this project is just one example of that.
Led by Charles “Ceej Vega” Johnson, Vega Studio was founded after he felt boxed in after he landed his dream tech role as a software engineer. The company operates as a full-service Web3 design agency, and this year it found itself at the center of DC Design Week, where eager conference goers were able to attend an exclusive screening of GEN-SYNTH.
“GEN-SYNTH is the perfect expression of Unparalleled Pathways,” Eden Patrick, DC Design Week chair, told Blavity. “It’s cinematic, deeply experimental, and rooted in pressing real-world issues. The film uses an AI-driven, multiverse lens to re-imagine a city like Baltimore. By showcasing this, we challenge the audience to think beyond aesthetics. This project is about narrative design, world-building, and reclaiming imagination for communities that have historically been excluded from mainstream cultural depictions. That’s the kind of boundary-expanding work DC Design Week is here to champion.”
Stanfield echoed the sentiment, sharing how a moment like this aims to shape the future of Black storytelling in film and media.
“This moment is about ownership of both tools and the stories they help tell,” she said. “For Black creatives, engaging with technology like AI isn’t just about keeping up. It’s about shaping what comes next. We’ve seen how innovation can shift culture when it’s guided by people who bring lived experience and cultural perspective. That’s what Vega Studio is doing: reclaiming authorship in a medium that is still defining itself. It’s an act of creating sovereignty that will influence how stories are told and who gets to tell them.”
The impact AI technology has on the future
Both Patrick and Stanfield are optimistic about the role that AI will play in the future of creative expression.
“I hope it sparks curiosity more than fear,” Stanfield said. “AI isn’t replacing creativity, it’s expanding the canvas. If we approach it as a design material rather than a threat, it opens space for deeper questions about process, authorship, and imagination.”
Patrick added, “We’re in an interesting time where there is a lot of valid concern about AI. My hope is that this screening sparks a productive dialogue. I want people to see AI as a tool that can create access, especially for those who might not have had the privilege of going to design school or affording expensive equipment. With AI, a person can experiment with scripting, motion graphics, or world-building in ways that simply weren’t accessible before. If audiences leave GEN-SYNTH questioning, inspired, or motivated to try something new with these tools, then it’s done its job.”
The post Inside DC Design Week’s Bold Step Into Film, Media And AI Innovation appeared first on Blavity.
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