Influencers
Being a Graphic Design influencer looks a lot different than it would in many other industries, usually influencers are known and gain popularity for their personality, yet in graphic design, often popularity is drawn from the quality and consistency of your work. In the past influencers in design lived on the pages of books that were either self-published or presented in a book collecting a bunch of great designs together. Now though they’ve taken to social media and can more easily make a name for themselves.
Twitter has become a place where many designers can quickly share the art they’ve been working on, and they’ve taken advantage of the platform to get their names out there. Some designers, like Tom Muller (@hellomuller) have used Twitter to display a lot of the content they create for their consumers, so their Twitter becomes a portfolio of sorts.
Others like Christoph Niemann (@abstractsunday), use Twitter to really showcase their personal works, pieces that would never be seen by the masses without a social media platform to share it on.
Of course, there is still a place where a designer’s personality is very important to their success as an influencer, and that’s YouTube. YouTube provides a great way for designers to have a platform that’s a lot different to how a designer would use Twitter. On YouTube design channels often are just channels with a heavy focus on tutorials and exploring design techniques. For example, Martin Perhiniak, who runs the channel Yes I’m a Designer, which focuses on how to do different design techniques, and when to implement them.
However, there are also channels that focus more on the bigger picture and discussions around design, like Ran Segall’s channel Flux.
These designers not only are getting their name out there but are also adding a lot to both their portfolios and resumes. Every designer should be always be implementing the tools available to them, and social media is no different.