In 1971, Kalman returned to New York City where he was hired by Leonard Riggio for a small bookstore that eventually became Barnes & Noble. He later became the creative director of their in-house design department where he created advertisements, store signs, shopping bags, and the original B&N bookplate trademark. In 1979, Kalman - along with Carol Bokuniewicz, and Liz Trovato - started the design firm M & Co., which did corporate work for such diverse clients as the Limited Corporation, the new wave rock group Talking Heads, and Restaurant Florent in New York City's Meatpacking District. He sought to challenge mundane design thinking and aspired to create unpredictable work. Kalman also worked as creative director of "Interview" magazine in the early 1990s.