David Berman (graphic designer)
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David Berman (R.G.D., FGDC) is a Fellow and Ethics Chair of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, a vice-president of Icograda, the world body for graphic design, a Canadian communication designer, President of the first elected board of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, and an international keynote speaker.
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[edit] Biography
David Berman was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on November 30, 1962.
In high school, David created and produced The Apprentice magazine which was distributed in four countries. While training at the University of Waterloo in computer science and at Carleton University in psychology and typography, he became involved with the student press and redesigned The Charlatan. David worked in the Canadian federal government as a computer systems analyst before turning his hobby of graphic design into his career. For one year, he taught typography at Algonquin College. He has worked extensively in the adaptation of printed materials for electronic distribution, including Web design and software interface development.
Early in his career, David developed a lasting interest in plain writing and information design. His work included award-winning projects for the City of Ottawa, the Ontario government, and Canada's federal government, as well as notable projects involving plain design, accessibility and knowledge management principles.
As a graphic designer, consultant, public speaker, trainer and typographer, David is a senior consultant in information architecture and communications strategy. For ten years in the 1990s, David was Vice-President of Herrera Berman Communications. Since then he is President of David Berman Communications.
Since 1984, David worked to establish a new code of ethics for graphic designers which embraced social responsibility for graphic designers. The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada [1] ratified his draft nationally in May 2000, and it is now used as a template for national graphic design organizations by Icograda, the International Council of Graphic Design Associations [2]. This code was used as template for the code of ethics adopted by Grafill [3] (the Norwegian association of graphic designers) in 2008.
He served as the president of the first elected board of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, the Americas' first accredited graphic design organization (established by an Act of the Government of Ontario's Legislature), from 1997 to 1999. He drafted the association's constitution and Rules of Professional Conduct, and authored Ontario's certification examination section on ethics and professional responsibility.
In 1999, the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada named him a Fellow (the second youngest to have achieved the country's highest professional standing in this field) for his work on the Code of Ethics, accreditation and other national issues.
In 2000, he was elected Vice President Ethics of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and is currently National Ethics Chair.
David is dedicated to realizing graphic design's potential to help improve the human condition and the global environment. Since 2000, he has traveled to over 18 countries, keynoting at design conferences and universities, and presenting seminars on topics such as making Web sites more accessible for people with disabilities. He speaks about the important role designers can play in creating a more just world: he argues that rather than applying their skills to help organizations mislead their audiences, they can help enhance social conditions around the world. He also argues that global branded marketing campaigns directed at Developing World populations cause an uptake in a consumer-based lifestyle which is the largest current driver of environmental degradation in the World today.
In 2005, David was elected to the board of Icograda, and currently serves as Vice-President and Treasurer, and re-elected for an additional term in 2007.
David holds enhanced security clearance with the Canadian government. He is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers [4], the International Federation for Professional Speakers [5], and Meeting Planners International [6].
There is more biographical information about David Berman at www.davidberman.com [7].
[edit] Selected Publications
Do Good Design, AIGA/Pearson/Peachpit Press/New Riders (book, publication date to be announced)
A New Format For Canadian Legislation: White paper by David Berman, commissioned by Government of Canada on plain design's role in republishing the laws of Canada under a more accessible format.) [8]
ArabAd Magazine: "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Web Sites" by David Berman (English) [9]
[edit] Recent Career and Personal Life
Berman's speaking and judging engagements since 2000 have taken him to Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Jordan, Hong Kong, Hungary, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macau, Norway, Qatar, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Berman currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
[edit] Selected Articles
David's opinions have been featured in the Financial Post, Marketing, Applied Arts, Communication Arts, and ArabAd magazines, as well as CCTV (China) and CBC Radio (Canada).
"GDC Member Elected to Icograda Board" and "Canada Commended for Contributions to Icograda" from the GDC National Newsletter Fall/Winter 2005 [10]
Financial Post Interview with David Berman: "Don't scrimp on company's e-presence" (English)[11]
Culture.ca interview with David Berman (English) [12]
Klik Magazine (Slovenia) "Everything is in Values": Interview with David Berman on the European Magdalena Festival and social responsibility (English) [13]
Applied Arts magazine (Canada): Cover story interview with David Berman, April 2003 (English) [14]
David Berman's mission statement (English) [15]
