In the spring of 2008 I was contacted by the political action committee Music For Democracy. I don't know about you, but I've always found optimistic, music-loving people hard to resist. So, having just parted with an industrial design firm, I signed on with MFD as their Creative Director and, informally, quality controller.

Their logo came quickly to me and required little finessing. With such a simple, strong mark I knew the website would require only a minimal amount of positioning so as to allow the massive amount of content to flesh out the pages. T-shirts, stickers and pins followed.

As the 2008 election approached, MFD tapped David Crosby, Graham Nash and Vampire Weekend to play a fundraiser in a Manhattan church. There are a couple photos on the left from that event but one of the highlights was overhearing Crosby and Nash teaching Vampire Weekend how to play "Teach Your Children".

I like to think that I can make a difference. When working within the commercial design industry, however, it is often difficult to feel as though you're actually helping anyone other than your employer.

Over the past 5 years I've found web design and development to be a fantastic way to offer creative, quantifiable services to organizations and individuals whose missions go beyond the screen and make a significant impact on the world. Of course, this sort of associative way of sparking change isn't an end in itself - the rest is done off screen.

Here are a few websites I've had the pleasure of crafting.

The ID Project - Activism meets Buddhism meets the Lower East Side
GovSee - Explore your government like a Google Map
Committee for Economic Development - A refresh for a non-partisan think tank
Meet The Composer - Literally
Music For Democracy - Bridging the gap between music and politics

My thesis while at ITP, Artphones explores the recently possible in relation to 3D printing and participatory design. In March 2012, I introduced myself to a third grade class and asked them to sketch and sculpt their ideal walkie-talkie. I showed them the "guts" of their walkie-talkies -- battery, speaker, antenna, etc -- so that they could begin to design around them.

In no time at all I was handed a cornucopia of clay models which I then, making use of AutoDesk's 123D Catch software, scanned into the computer. Once I had a 3D mesh to work with, I edited the form so as to fit the necessary hardware ("guts"). The final step was then using a MakerBot Replicator to slowly print out the finished shell for their unique walkie-talkies.

Here's the original post I wrote for MakerBot which highlights some of my more intangible goals for the project.

Some press highlights:
PSFK
The Creator's Project

As a musician and tangible design evangelist, I've sketched dozens of ideas for alternative musical instruments. Developing systems that allow the user to get away from the computer screen has long been my passion and it's musical instrument experimentation that I find most satisfying.

Tone Throw is based on the idea of holding a note, chord, or tone in your hand. Only upon throwing this note against a hard surface will you hear its sound. Initial sketches saw crates upon crates that were filled with different balls - each crate a different chord, A through G.

Hooked on the idea, I sought to fine tune the details and, therefore, improve the design. Instead of crates of disposable balls, I decided to allow the user any sort of projectile at their disposal and to utilize mountable, digitized boards to receive the impact from these projectiles. The boards wirelessly talk to a hand-held remote to communicate velocity and whether the board is currently a minor, major or flat version of that board.