A friend of mine once approached me about a logo I was developing. "Bobby, that's not really a logo - it's more like clever text."

I try to create marks that can speak for themselves. Functionality - especially when it comes to visual design - will always have a special place in my heart. I often look to Alberto Giacometti's work for inspiration as it approaches content and abstracts it to it's most necessary form.

Basically, I <3 typography.

Preparing to unleash their new line of chopped salads, Pax Wholesome Food and Europa Café were looking for some eye-catching signage for their Manhattan stores. As their photography at the time didn't lend itself to compelling design, I often used illustration to communicate their needs.

The environmental signage that wrapped the walls of some Europa Café stores allowed the illustrations to provide a hierarchy to the food and purchasing stations. Also shown are some poster designs for the two food chains as well as their 2006 holiday menu.

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.

I'm of the persuasion that electricity will one day be as easy to transmit as an email or an MP3. Granted, this assertion may prove only to reveal what little physics knowledge I have, but still I continue to hypothesize.

Social Energy is my concept for harnessing energy created through exercise to collect and, ultimately, share on the internet. Like a more productive Facebook or a worthwhile Twitter, Social Energy's site would allow users to create accounts, upload their energy, research people, places and organizations, and share their newly created energy with the world.

I created the animation on the left to try my hand at advertising for Social Energy. At it's core, the concept is simple: share energy with the world through exercising. The meter at the bottom of the video monitors the user's battery. When the meter reaches capacity the user is able to share their energy online.