Wednesday, June 2, 2010

下班了

Madison:
Today was my second day on the job at Enovate. The inventive nature of Eno as a start up means that I'm somewhat on my own to structure my internship and propose/offer to work on projects that I will help me develop a skill set in Indesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc.. The first deadline is a print publication with articles about Chinese youth culture that would serve as a handout for clients to show them the kind of work Eno does. Right now I'm researching creative bookbinding and create-your-own USB drive websites. The second project is a comic strip that illustrates the lives of Chinese youth with different interests going through their daily lives. The third was re-organized text and logo placement for a client's email newsletter. And fourth, this weekend I have plans to go to the Shanghai marriage market in People's Sq. to do field research for an Eno blog article.

Apparently lots of parents and sometimes grandparents go to the park, sometimes without the knowledge of the wife or husband to be, and arrange potential matches for their children. Supposedly most Chinese at this age are too busy working to devote time to finding a soul mate. Many parents additionally employ matchmakers. With the male/female ratio there are a lot more single guys competing for wives. The listings for both guys and girls include a glamour shot and essential information. For guys this essential information is height, salary and whether or not you have a car and house. For girls- age, weight and height. Chinese are really into height. I'm imagining, "Man with car and 3000 rmb/month looking for wife around 23, who should be above 1.65 meters in height, as pure as a lotus flower, fair-skinned, slender, and quiet." ....

I've been amazed so far at the amount of research Eno does to know its consumer. Chinese youth (considered people between 15-25) wield an amazing chunk of purchasing power. China has 420 million citizens under 25 years old (THIS EXCEEDS THE ENTIRE US POPULATION). These youngsters are spending or influencing 50% or more of their families' incomes. Big market.

I feel like something bad is going to happen to my eyes looking at the computer screen literally all day. I'm also struggling to sit in an office chair from 9:30 to 6:30. At school I usually work on the floor or sit at my desk on a big bouncy ball. Most of my coworkers don't take lunch breaks either- they just eat at their desks. Hmm.

Time for ladies night.

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