A fat cartoon humanoid dog can interpret the favorite Internet hot words of young people such as "stall hand", "tactical back", "rushing duck" and so on, poking many netizens, has a large number of supporters on the online platform, and has become a well-known cosmetics and beverage "spokesperson".
"The popularity of 'Little Fat Chai' was really unexpected, and the original intention of the original design was 'close to the people and easy to use'." Purple Dragon, affectionately known as "Chai Dad" by netizens, said in an online interview with reporters.
The purple dragon, who had just passed the age of standing, was thin, fair-skinned, and wore glasses.
Purple Dragon creates "Little Fat Chai" emojis at home. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
He believes that memes have the advantage that words cannot replace. For example, when people communicate online, most of them encounter situations that are afraid of rejection and difficult to open their mouths, as long as they throw the expression of the other party's "small fat chai" holding their thighs or "starry eyes full of longing", the embarrassment is suddenly resolved, and the atmosphere becomes relaxed.
"Moreover, a suitable meme can accurately convey emotions and express rich meaning." Purple Dragon said.
Purple Dragon uses the software design of the "little fat chai" new expression. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Many years ago, Zilong noticed a series of emojis on the WeChat platform, which were cute but not very practical. Since 2015, he has been determined to make a more useful meme himself. "I think young people should try more new things, and maybe they can play a greater role in inconspicuous areas." He said.
Although the university is majoring in economic management and painting is only a hobby, Zilong is still based on his proficiency in PS technology and research on young people's preferences, and finally selected the Shiba Inu as the basic image that is loved by domestic netizens, and gave it a "human form" to be closer to the audience.
"Little Fat Chai" joint cosmetics. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
"The threshold for making expressions is not high, but the threshold for impressing people is very high." With computers, hand-drawn panels, and PhotoShop software, Zilong came home from work and began to create new expressions.
There is a certain gap between the original "Little Fat Chai" and the current version in details. According to the suggestions of friends, fans and big data feedback, Zilong repeatedly polished the emoji, and strived to make users feel intimate through details and micro-expressions. At present, the WeChat platform "Xiaofei Chai" alone has been used billions of times.
For Purple Dragon, the hardest thing is always the "next set of emojis". In order to find inspiration, he often goes to Weibo, Zhihu, B station and other platforms that young people like to understand the changes in netizens' concerns, and even leaves messages in the comment area. Today, he keeps updating a set of memes for two to three months, and has accumulated nearly a thousand memes.
With the rise of the popularity of "small fat chai", more and more enterprises are looking for Purple Dragon to cooperate. Zilong said that the increasing saturation of the meme market has made "small fat chai" "feel duck power", fortunately, the focus and preferences of netizens have been changing, giving designers a lot of room for growth.
Reporters: Ma Sijia, Ai Fumei
Editor: Liao Yi