My idea for the final project is to develop and sell pre-prepared experiences for people who need inspiration for gifts to give friends, parents and partners. The agenda behind idea is naturally commercial. I am developing a commercial product (pre-arranged, pre-paid, easy-to-use experiences) with the goal of solving a specific problem Chinese consumers face in an ever consumption concerned urban life: What do I give as a gift to friends, my partner or parents that it’s different and not something they would just go get themselves.
My idea is not entirely original. I got inspiration from a Christmas vacation in Denmark where a company is selling experiences in boxes made available in all kinds of stores across the country. At first, I did not think about it for the Chinese market, but when I returned home and saw my Chinese relatives’ gifting books with homework to my cousins, wrapped nicely as had it been toys, I was thinking to myself these parents’ should try to take their children out to experience more. And I got the idea of helping these parents gifting experiences to their children. I realized, however, that given the focus on education in China, this market is not as feasible as others.
The Danish experiences sold are typically hotel-stays, dinner or lunch, a ride in a helicopter or driving a racing car. These experiences are great for Danish consumers with their lifestyles, but I believe there is room to design experiences for the Chinese urban consumer whose work, social and family life present different constraints and opportunities.
China has long entered into a consumer era. Consumption is the center of the life of urban Chinese citizens. If we are not consuming, we are working to earn money for the same purpose or to save up money for our children’s education. While the Chinese consumer does travel abroad more and more, finding engaging, memorable, enjoyable and personal experiences locally, in the city, requires spending long time on research.
My experiences will be focused on this type of experiences primarily. You can buy as a gift a local experience that will fit the individual you give the gift to. You gift fun. Gift memories. Gift quality-time. The design should be emotionally appealing. It should play into the hands of our aspiration to have more “quality life,” and “quality experiences,” meaning it is more meaningful. The design is in the experience – the extent to which it is curated – and how it is packaged and sold both virtually and physically.