Kang Hexing: It's already on sale. Our way is to order first and then deliver.
W: It's an antique feeling. Made alone, not yet officially produced. They (the printing house) made this mark, and the box was put together by the two of us. This is a postcard, this is an envelope for postcards, and this is the plan of our school.
Yang Yang: Everything else is basically handmade, right? Because it is not a finished product from the assembly line. This process is still very good, and the imprint needs to be processed. At present, it is based on the printing quantity (the price should be discussed with the printing factory), and now this style is more fashionable. Now it is the way of thinking under this internet model. Give you a scheduled deadline and then deliver the goods. This kind of customization will be relatively less risky for the initial stage of entrepreneurship.
Kang Hexing: Because let's have a look first and see if it is feasible. If we start production before the publicity, others may not recognize the product. This is the first publicity. It's all that Taobao mode, buy first, then deliver. In this way, we don't have to spend our own money to print, and the cost will come down. The risk is basically zero: if someone decides, they can sell it; If no one decides, our cost is only the proofing fee and our own hard work fee, and there is not much cost.
Yang Yang: Is this illustration hand-painted? These photos were taken by ourselves at school, right?
W: Because it's too late, we can only find materials to post. We originally wanted to draw them. This photo was taken by ourselves at school.
Yang Yang: That actually covers a lot. We have our own photographer and a small studio. The plan is to take some photos with the samples you brought.
Yao Lan: The only difference between the two models is the color of the box. Is the content the same? That's great. College students' entrepreneurship. I happened to see the circle of friends sent by Teacher Wang Gang that day. Is he your professional teacher? Besides Mr. Wang, are there any other publicity channels to help you forward WeChat?
Kang Hexing: It's just that the box has two colors, and the contents are the same. Teacher Wang Gang is the teacher of our specialized course, who teaches us binding design and is also the instructor of our graduation design. We added a group of alumni, all of whom graduated from the 1980s. Speaking of this calendar, it has not been delivered yet, but it is expected to be delivered around New Year's Day. Because we are also semi-finished products, we still have to fold the box ourselves. We'll have some overlap.
Yao Lan:
What about your graduation project? Do you still have time to prepare?
Kang Hexing:
This is part of the graduation project. At that time, I planned to do a graduation project, so I did more. It is because of the size of this box that there is a certain mold opening fee.
Kang Hexing: I had an entrepreneurial experience before, and I made Tiancai's exclusive moon cakes. It's just that the pattern is on the moon cake, and this one is on the desk calendar. It puts a representative building on the moon cake. Didn't other schools print the school emblem on the moon cakes? They made moon cakes with the school emblem, and we made exclusive moon cakes.
Yang Yang: In other words, you two are actually more inclined to do artistic creation, but the carrier is the ingredients. In addition, is the picture displayed on the package or on the moon cake? Then your workload is quite heavy, and you need to photograph the particularly representative buildings of Caida first. I don't know if I understand correctly. Do moon cakes (when making molds) need to be expressed in three dimensions with paper, which is closer to printmaking? Is it equivalent to me turning photos into prints?
Kang Hexing: I wonder if you know anything about sculpture? You know, the carving kind.
Yang Yang: On the wood. It is reflected in the moon cake mold in the form of yin and yang, and then made into moon cakes. That's a great effort. Because your materials don't look like some traditional auspicious patterns, you can learn from them, for example, people draw a "Five Blessingg", right? Did you make this change yourself?
Kang Hexing: Yes, what we did ourselves was to design the pattern and print it on it. We made moon cakes then. I don't think our school emblem is particularly beautiful. Tianjin University is made of their school emblem. At that time, we launched moon cakes with several universities in Tianjin, and then cooperated with enterprises. We want to make a form that is not limited to the school emblem, so we found some distinctive buildings. We took many photos of school buildings to see which one is suitable for making moon cakes on them.
Yang Yang: Where did the idea for this calendar come from?
Kang Hexing: It was born out of our idea. At that time, we could do nothing. He is working and I am starting a business. In the process of choosing entrepreneurship and employment, the two of us are entangled. At that time, we felt that we had been making things for others, and suddenly we didn't want to do it for others for a moment. Catch up with the graduation project and then want to make things by yourself, make things by yourself.
Yang Yang: That's for sure. The process of this young man from school to society is definitely a process of trial and error. You don't know which way may be more suitable for you. Just groping, crossing the river by feeling the stones, groping. You two are aggressive. When you are faced with over-commercialized or market-oriented creative needs, you find that your artistic expression is not complete. Let me ask first, where did the original idea of making a calendar come from?
Wei: The main concern is to design a website with a team that makes calendars, but it is not aimed at schools or going out to take photos. They draw a picture every day, with about 356 pages. After seeing this, I had an idea. Anyway, I will graduate soon, and I have great feelings for Caida. It is also good to make this thing just to commemorate Caida. It was a simple idea, and then our ideas met.
Yang Yang: Have you communicated with the school? Did the school give some support?
Kang Hexing: Not at first. Later, after it was made, there was some communication at the alumni association and at the student affairs office, mainly in sales.
Yang Yang: After this work was formed, it was affirmed and supported by the school. In its present form, will it become a souvenir after Caida? Will the school buy this calendar as a souvenir in the future?
W: Our idea is that it can be used as a prize for student activities or competitions in the future. But there is still a limitation. They all want to put their photos on the calendar. But we have already formed this one, so we won't make any changes. Because what we make ourselves, if we do it with their ideas, it will deviate from the original intention of both of us to make this product.
Yao Lan: Maybe it fits the needs of the school too well from the beginning, and you may lose the initial intention of doing this. If you follow the teacher's instructions, it means that you are working for the school again, which means that the school puts forward the design requirements, you make them, and the school pays you.
W: There is a threshold. The school has the biggest official position. If promoted on this platform, all students can see it. However, there is some resistance because of commercialization (operation). Up to now, most students in the school still don't know what we are doing.
Kang Hexing: At that time, we didn't want to always work for others, and we didn't want to always make things for others. We realize other people's ideas through our hands, but our own ideas can't be realized. So this requirement (equal to) is still what you said, and what we do is no different from before, which is equivalent to working for a school. At that time, the moon cakes were not shown to the teacher, so I crustily skin of head and made them myself. If the teacher doesn't agree, he must agree. That's it.
Yao Lan: This is also a "curve to save the country" route. Step by step. At first, I saw this forwarded by Mr. Wang, and thought that this product could be shown to alumni at your school celebration, and then they could buy it. What is the sales volume now?
Kang Hexing: We also have publicity at the Alumni Association, and the purchase volume is not very large. We now order 200 sets at a time. In order to do it at the lowest cost, there must be at least 1000 sets. If it is produced in small batches, the cost will definitely not come down, and neither will the printing factory. In reality, some printing plants don't print for you, and the minimum order quantity is too small.
W: Our scope of work is relatively small. If there is only one university, it will be rich. If Tianjin is the main illustration, or in a wider range, buyers will be more extensive. At present, only we rich people will have the intention to buy.
Yao Lan: When I saw your work, my first thought was whether you were authorized by Caida. After all, it uses the image of the main building of Caida. What you're doing now is more than just propaganda.
Kang Hexing: We haven't received any objections from the school. Some will use the school Logo (to make a profit), and the school will come to you. Because we are students, this is equivalent to supporting us. If people in the society use these materials, the school will charge fees.
Yao Lan: This is the greatest support. Because you are purely commercial, not just for publicity. It's good that the school can do this. Explain that you are now looking for an official WeChat account to promote your work.
Yang Yang: The school has no objection now. It is already indirectly supporting your entrepreneurial project, and it will not be promoted as vigorously as a complete commercial operation. Did you encounter a bottleneck in the production process? Will the two creative people know PK this work? What are the main aspects?
W: There must be this. There must be different opinions in the creative process, one is design, the other is copywriting. Basically, he (Kang Hexing) is in charge of the copywriting part and I am in charge of the design part. We have a division of labor, each doing his own job.
Yang Yang: There will be differences in content and expression. Who will generally "win"?
Kang Hexing: It is normal to have differences because of different division of labor. Each of us will have our own ideas. There will be places with the same ideas, and there will certainly be different places. This will be divided.
Yang Yang: Actually, we have to do this (mode of operation). It's a good thing when there is conflict. If two people, three people or more people collide, your creation or startup will go further. How do you say this? "Listening is dark, and listening is clear." Do you feel this way? No product can be suitable for everyone. Just because of my idea, in the process of business operation, I chose a more universal value, which is suitable for more people.
Kang Hexing: Everything is like this, just combining two people's ideas. He must have his reasons for not agreeing with you. There will also be a group of buyers in the society who don't agree with your idea. Their ideas may be the same as his, so it is normal to learn from them. In fact, how can we make this thing successful? We think this thing is successful when it is made. At least it was made in college. It belongs to me. If I don't sell a set, even if I succeed.
Yang Yang: Yes, this mentality is very important. In my understanding, it is the expression and embodiment of the value of the work. When you first made this thing, you already had your own psychological expectations. When this thing is done, it will reach your psychological expectation. The moment this thing is finished, you have already finished your expectation. From that moment until now, everything has been earned.
Kang Hexing: There is spirit. The main reason is why we want to make this thing, that is, we don't want to be other people's hands anymore, or we want to make our own things with our own hands. This is our initial intention, so when two people's ideas touch, the initial creative intention comes out.
Yang Yang: Are you all seniors? Have you ever considered the direction of employment, for example, as a copywriter and designer, when facing the market, you have certain psychological expectations for some different voices and things that you can't master?
Kang Hexing: There must be. If you can't be yourself at school, you can't be yourself in society. After work, you should do what the boss asks you to do. If you don't do what the boss thinks, you can't do it.
Yang Yang: Then my understanding may be biased. In fact, this matter can also be understood as "when you have the conditions, you must let yourself be willful once."
W: I'm really happy after starting a business. I feel that entrepreneurship is very interesting. Now I feel that I am constantly circulating the same life to work every day. I get up early in the morning and go to work. It is boring to come back from work after dark. I have never started a business before. After this venture, I feel that life can still be like this, and it is selective.
Yang Yang: Life is sometimes a painful repetition. Let's be pessimistic. We have to face this cycle and this repetition all our lives. What changes or influences will this entrepreneurial experience have on the future?
W: It's like saying that there is no road under your feet, so you can only find your own way out and go out. The impact of this venture on me is that I want to try something new in the future.
Kang Hexing: Change means thick skin. Which of us had the courage to sell ourselves before? I'm not good at selling myself and praising myself. It is the experience of this venture. When the product is just made, you should create an export for yourself. Some teachers are not limited to online promotion, so you have to promote offline. I used to go to the Academic Affairs Office to sell products. A teacher took us to the front to introduce myself first, and then I began to introduce myself. This time, I took my own work and went directly to the Academic Affairs Office to promote it to the teacher. I didn't dare before I was at the entrepreneurial center. When I was working on the moon cake project, the teacher asked me to take the moon cake to the academic affairs office to find a teacher to promote it. I said, how can I tell others' teachers? Later, there was no way out, and the teacher took me to do publicity. This calendar didn't let the teacher take us to the academic affairs office at all. Because it is your own business, you have the confidence to knock on the door and publicize it, and you dare to do it directly. I used to be embarrassed to ask the media for publicity, but now I lick my face and go to my friend and say, you help me promote the calendar.
Yang Yang: There is no such psychological obstacle this time. This is my own child, my own big baby, and I want more people to see it.
Yao Lan: The key is to open your mouth, otherwise people won't know how good you are.
Yang Yang: Especially in today's extremely developed material civilization, there are too many dazzling commodities. Although your goods are very good, if you are unwilling or unable to overcome your own obstacles. Now there are many, their own conditions and level are very good, but they don't do publicity. Although there used to be an old saying that "good wine is not afraid of the depth of the alley", this is no longer the case. If you say that you can't sell yourself, your ideas or your products well, to put it bluntly, you won't "fool". I'm afraid it's …
Kang Hexing: Yes, now is the time to need marketing and talk.
Yang Yang: Which one of you is willing to do more for this job? Is this publicity and external liaison work? Because we didn't talk for long. I feel that he (Kang Hexing) is more outgoing.
Kang Hexing: I do this mostly because I have a thick skin, hehe.
W: I feel embarrassed talking to people I don't know very well.
Yang Yang: Then you are a slow-heating type. I have nothing to say to strangers, but I will be talkative to acquaintances. You have to ask him (Kang Hexing). Go out for dinner and a drink, and we can talk. I think, compared with my school days. Nowadays, young people don't know themselves as before. Young people don't have an accurate understanding of themselves in all aspects. For example, if I am not good at it, I will seize some opportunities or create some opportunities to improve. The former person may be introverted and unlikely to change, so he has been living in this introverted state. Does it have anything to do with the media development in the Internet age?
Wei: I was shy when I was a freshman, so I ran for the league branch secretary of the monitor in order to change myself, so I am much better now. That's much bigger than it is now. I think it varies from person to person. Look at your own thoughts. For example, I think I was timid before, and I don't think I will get better in the future. I will want to change, and I will have a better chance if I am bold. I have this idea, but some people don't, so he will continue this state.
Yao Lan: People will definitely change in senior three. After you graduate from design, as I told you in my circle of friends, you will definitely be skinned, from the teacher, whether you are starting a business or ...
Kang Hexing: I have experienced a lot from this year. This year, all my energy was focused on starting a business at school. That is to say, in the end, making the last product and making a good product is the end of starting a business in school.
I have an idea, too. I don't want to be so busy. I like my life with myself. Therefore, it is also selective to give up something and pursue something.
Yang Yang: I hope I can have more self-control in my study, work and life in the future. There should be many young people yearning for such a life, not to mention whether he can achieve it, at least it is a state of life he yearns for.
Kang Hexing: It is a coincidence that I started my business. In fact, I was cheated when I started my business.
Yao Lan: Cheated entrepreneurship?
Yang Yang: Here's a story. Tell me briefly about your mental journey.
Kang Hexing: I didn't plan to start a business at that time. I've been planning to take an examination of a civil servant or something. But I have this idea myself. At first, I wanted to break away from my usual life, start a business and get a job, and eat with what I learned. We had a teacher at that time, that is, an investor wanted to invest in college students to start a business, and our teacher chose me. At that time, we started a company with investors. I am a legal person of this company, but due to some reasons of investors, this company has not continued to operate. Up to now, some things that the company needs to operate are in his hands. The company has neither been operated nor cancelled, which is equivalent to being shelved. Although I have no capital investment, my time cost can't be delayed. Later, I led the team to continue to start a business, so I took my second project. It is equivalent to the unpleasant experience of starting a business, but I suddenly found that I still have some abilities during that time. I found that I still have the ability to operate this kind of thing, and I am more interested in starting a business. Try different things in college to see which route suits you, or stick to your own ideas. That's when I really came into contact with the darkest side of human nature.
Yang Yang: This is a bad investor. Sometimes this unpleasant experience, personal feelings, and sometimes you can learn more than those very pleasant experiences. And young people sometimes don't be too afraid of falling. Forget it, they have already lost money. If you don't eat small losses when you are young, you are likely to eat big losses when you are old. It is possible to knock you down with one punch and never get up again. In the school environment, after all, there is a layer of "armor" in the school to protect you. Unlike you who really go to the society, being completely "streaking" in the face of naked business competition will make you more vulnerable. This tuition will be paid sooner or later. It is better to hand it in early than late.
Yao Lan: But at school, what should I say? Even if you go the wrong way, you can still transfer. After all, you are still young.
Kang Hexing: I feel a lot of things. Don't live too smoothly. As long as it's not too smooth, it's even worse if you have the support. It won't be so difficult when you really make your own decisions in the future. Not afraid of failure, not afraid of losing anything. Some things can hit you, but not your heart. I am a student now and have no money on me. You can't lie to me anymore. When I really want to achieve something in the future, if you cheat again, you may have cheated me of all my money.
Wei: Behind those successful people, there will be some failures in exchange for today's success.
Yao Lan: Have you studied art since you were a child? When I was a child, I took a picture clip to the Children's Palace to learn?
Kang Hexing: We have been studying since childhood, which is a feat of boys. It's just that they will concentrate on surprise training for a while before the college entrance examination. I have loved art since I was a child, and I have been concentrating on training since high school. My home is in Tianjin Baodi, and I studied painting in Tianjin. He studied painting in Fujian.
W: I like sports. I used to want to take an examination of sports schools. When preparing for the senior high school entrance examination in the third grade, art students and physical education students are special students, and the senior high school entrance examination is extra points. Later, physical education class wanted to take a basketball test, and the height requirement was 1.7 meters. At that time, I was only 1.69 meters, haha, so I was eliminated, and then the registration fee of 50 yuan was not refunded to me. It's too pit. I couldn't learn physical education, and then I changed to an art student. When I was a child, people around me said I painted well, but my mother said I painted ugly. Teared up all the pictures on my wall. In the year of the final exam, I came to Caida with the results of being the first in the studio and the top 40 in the country (the results in the culture class were really bad, haha). It's interesting to think about these now.
Yang Yang: Music, body and beauty are inseparable, and the nerves in this area are relatively developed. But I think it will be painful for a while. People who study painting are like this, and I have also studied painting, that is, if you like painting again, when you face the exam, you will draw the kind of nausea that comes out of your heart. You paint plaster statues for 7-8 hours a day, and some people who work hard can paint for more than ten hours. There are news reports that people who are going to apply for the Central Academy of Fine Arts can paint all night and don't want to live at all.
Kang Hexing: Yes, it is to draw what others like, not what they like. And as an art student, I really have been painting before the exam. We took the college entrance examination in 20 13. At that time, it was still a school exam, and we carried our picture clips to various schools. We have been drawing while staying in the hotel at night, for fear of failing the exam tomorrow. There are many schools with great exam rules. For example, when I take the sichuan fine arts institute exam and draw gouache, a person is as big as a floor tile, so you have to take the exam with the drawing board between your arms. Wonderful! Every school's marking teacher likes different styles. For example, when I was admitted to Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Mr. Guo Zhenshan once painted "big color blocks". When he was marking papers, he painted "color blocks". We also studied Color Blocks, and when he was in senior three, he transferred to another school. Later, there was a painting method from Shandong called "gray tone", which was gouache, and then we began to change from "color block" to "gray tone" quickly.
Wei:
But if you draw well, there will always be schools that agree with you, but gold will always shine.
Kang Hexing: You should draw what the marking teacher likes.
Yang Yang: Art has a personal aesthetic and is a master. He has seen a lot, but he can understand all kinds of styles. He also has an aesthetic preference. Doing what you want will give you a little more advantage. I have worked hard for so many years. Looking at the employment direction after my senior year, is it the professional direction of hard work or employment?
Yao Lan: What's your major? Do you have a job now?
Kang Hexing: It's all graphic design, which means visual communication. He must be a designer, and his hobby is there. For example, I just want to deviate from myself and challenge my unfamiliar fields. People ask me, will you take the road of starting a business after graduation? I said no, he has been working for more than a year, and I have been starting a business for more than a year, starting this year. Basically, there are 2~3 students in our class who will study this major in the future and usually do something else.
W: I work in an advertising company. In the future, I think I'll do it myself and work for others. I feel bored, and I'm also limiting my thinking. I want to set up my own studio in the future, so I will be more motivated and work harder.
Yang Yang: That's for sure. Entrepreneurship is also quite good. To throw cold water on you, you may meet your boss now, and you should vote for him. If you start a business, you can face the needs of customers. What we are faced with is whether to make money, whether to express ourselves, and whether to make commercial profits. In fact, this is not an unsolvable problem, but a solvable problem. Is to squeeze yourself hard and then let yourself go higher and further on this road. By that time, all the problems that plagued you before will be solved. At that time, it is not the customer who asks you, it is you who asks the customer.
W: There is such a great company. If we give you a sample, you must use this. But it takes time and effort for such a company to be strong enough to have the right to speak and design.
Yang Yang: I used to have a friend who was in advertising. At first, he was tortured by the manuscript revised by the client. Later, I gradually made some achievements in this circle. I said, is this still the case? He said no. Now, as long as customers want competitive demonstrations, I will say that I don't participate in competitive demonstrations and I don't have time. I said that what you did was quite unreasonable. He said that as long as you come to me, I will make sure that you are satisfied with the design and the following process, but if you say there are three competitive demonstrations or something, I'm sorry, I won't attend. As the old saying goes, "the store bullies the customer, and the customer bullies the store", which is always in such a reversal process.
Kang Hexing: Some companies don't reply to you for a long time after you send it to him. Otherwise, all the people contacted agreed, but they didn't pass when they got to the boss. At this stage, a picture has been made and dozens of drafts have been revised. I used to work for others for two months, and my salary was not low, but later I resigned because I wanted to take the civil service exam.
Yang Yang: Your state is very different. More people are admitted to civil servants for a more stable life. He's not like that. He may just want to experience the life of a civil servant. Maybe in a few years, he will quit this public office and experience another life.
Kang Hexing: Because I plan to try something different in five years, such as going to the west.
Wei and Kang Hexing:
On the premise of preparation, you can do it if you have an idea. This makes life more meaningful.