The rising popularity of social media over the past two decades has resulted in many changes to the marketing world. Not only have companies turned to these social platforms for their own marketing efforts, but the surge has given rise to an entirely new industry, Influencing. Influencers can be found in any genre, opening up entirely new avenues of income for many professionals. Professional influencers are those influencers that are able to garner a monetary value large enough to sustain their way of life based on their social media following. For designers and illustrators, this avenue has resulted in the potential to market oneself in an entirely new way. Design influencers, as this research will refer to them, are no longer marketing themselves in a B2B format, they have created entirely customizable careers based on their social media presence that allows them to market themselves in a manner more similar to B2C practices, they have become the brand and their audience is the consumer. This research will examine the patterns and circumstances that have allowed these designers to build careers in this manner and determine whether or not it can be replicated in a consistent manner that would validate its acknowledgment as a viable career path, rooted in strategy, that can be prepared for in post-secondary institutions
