Core77 2013 Year in Review: Top Ten Posts · Furniture, Pt. 1 · Furniture, Pt. 2
Digital Fabrication, Pt. 1 · Digital Fabrication, Pt. 2 · Digital Fabrication, Pt. 3 · Digital Fabrication, Pt. 4
Insights from the Core77 Questionnaire · Maker Culture: The Good, the Bad and the Future · Food & Drink
Materials, Pt. 1: Wood · Materials, Pt. 2: Creative Repurposing · Materials, Pt. 3: The New Stuff
True I.D. Stories · High-Tech Headlines

For 2013 we rolled out a new section, one that's quickly become a reader favorite: True I.D. Stories, where industrial designers in our readership stepped forward (albeit anonymously) to tell their tales. What can go wrong for an industrial designer? The short answer is, lots.

First, "Newbie Designer" sounded off with "Off the Grid," the tale of his first ID business trip. The newly-minted exhibit designer was flown across the country to oversee a store installation, and the trouble started nearly as soon as he got to the store.

» True I.D. Stories #1: Off the Grid

Next, "Design Minion" told us his story of "Fun in the Sun." The designer of recreational pleasure craft found no pleasure during his first, hellish, on-site product catalog photo shoot.

» True I.D. Stories #2: Fun in the Sun?

Then we got into epic tale territory, as "Good Ol' Boy" took us through his multi-part adventure of going from useless, unskilled design grad to getting his dream ID job. It was by no means a straight line—this tale has more crazy twists and turns than a spy novel!

» True I.D. Stories #3: Get a Job, Any Job!
» True I.D. Stories #4: My Master(s) Plan
» True I.D. Stories #5: Game of ID Thrones
» True I.D. Stories #6: Opportunity Knocks. And Her Name is Amber
» True I.D. Stories #7: Money, Revenge, and Miscalculations

"The Design Ninja," meanwhile, confronted the choice many industrial designers have to make: Corporate or Consultancy? Our protagonist found the answer the way many of us do: The hard way.

» True I.D. Stories #8: The Design Ninja, Part 1 - Corporate or Consultancy?
» True I.D. Stories #9: The Design Ninja, Part 2 - Man Over Board
» True I.D. Stories #10: The Design Ninja, Part 3 - When the Pitch is a Bitch

Lastly, and by no means leastly, "Family Man" gave us an epic story to rival "Good Ol' Boy's." It starts off with him landing a supposed dream job designing Batcopters for Liberace, but the cross-country move—and his new employer—has a rather unexpected, and unwelcome surprise in store for him.

» True I.D. Stories #11: No Fame, No Fortune, but a Job Lead at Liberace Batcopters
» True I.D. Stories #12: Snow Country for Cold Men
» True I.D. Stories #13: Cross Country
» True I.D. Stories #14: Man Down
» True I.D. Stories #15: Contract Killer
» True I.D. Stories #16: Man Up

Folks, these stories don't come out of thin air--we need you industrial designers, ID students, or even design interns to step up and provide them to us! We'll anonymize you and all clients involved, as you can see we've done in every one of the 16 installments we've aired so far. (You didn't really think there was a Liberace Batcopters, Inc., did you?) So please drop us a line with your True I.D. Story and help us keep the section going.

Core77 2013 Year in Review:
» Top Ten Posts
» Furniture Design, Pt. 1
» Furniture Design, Pt. 2
» Digital Fabrication, Pt. 1: New Machines for Consumers
» Digital Fabrication, Pt. 2: Materials, Processes and Business Developments
» Digital Fabrication, Pt. 3: What Designers Did
» Digital Fabrication, Pt. 4: Research & Education
» Insights from the Core77 Questionnaire
» Maker Culture: The Good, the Bad and the Future
» Beer Innovation, Fine Art Sushi and More Beer Innovation
» Materials, Pt. 1: Wood
» Materials, Pt. 2: Using Old Materials in New Ways
» Materials, Pt. 3: The New Stuff
» True I.D. Stories
» High-Tech Headlines