Wikipedia article on David Berman
David’s “one-sheet”(speaker overview) (English, PDF, 285KB) 
For a review copy or excerpt of David’s book, Do Good Design, or if you are interested in interviewing David Berman, please contact publicist Laura Pexton at press@peachpit.com or +1-510-558-4166.
“Leadership and experience in applying information and communication technologies to improve people’s lives.”
- Sarbuland Khan, Executive Coordinator, United Nations
David Berman, FGDC, R.G.D. helps organizations get great things done, through the motivation and techniques he provides for applying strategy, design, ethics, and creative branding and communications to business problems. He has over 25 years of experience in design and strategic communications, including Web design and software interface development. As an internationally-acclaimed expert speaker, facilitator, communications strategist, graphic designer, typographer and ethics chair, his thought-provoking speaking and professional development engagements have brought him to over 10 countries in the past few years.
David is a senior strategic consultant to many of Canada’s largest Web sites. His clients include IBM, the International Space Station, the Canadian government, the World Bank, and the Aga Khan Foundation.
David’s book Do Good Design (Pearson, 2009) is available in English, Chinese, Indonesian, and Korean.
David has been called the “David Suzuki of design”. Since 1984, David worked to establish a code of ethics which embraces social responsibility for designers throughout Canada. The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada ratified his draft nationally in May 2000, which has been adopted as an international model by Icograda, the world body for communication design.
He served as the first elected president of the
Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, North America’s first accredited graphic design organization, from 1997 to 1999. He drafted the association’s constitution and Rules of Professional Conduct and authored Ontario’s accreditation 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 Canada’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, and has served as National Ethics Chair since 2002. Since 2005, he is also a Vice-President and Treasurer of Icograda, having been re-elected to a second term in October 2007.
David is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers, the Global Speakers Federation (GSF), and also Meeting Planners International.
As early as high school, he created and produced a 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 deeply involved with the student press. David also worked in the federal government as a computer systems analyst before turning his passion into his career. Many consider his knowledge of typography and electronic publishing, which he has taught as part of college curricula, to be unmatched in Canada’s national capital. David’s revolutionary, practical systems that ensure strategic communications projects deliver on time, on budget, and on target have helped hundreds of organizations creatively apply themselves more effectively toward strategic outcomes.
Early in his career he developed a lasting interest in plain writing and information design, which has led to the design of and development of a paper for the Prime Minister’s office on a system to republish the laws of Canada using plain writing and design. His work includes award-winning projects for the City of Ottawa, the Ontario government, and Canada’s federal government. Notable assignments involving plain design, accessibility, custom typeface design, and knowledge management principles include work for IBM, Justice Canada, HRDC, Canada Revenue Agency, the Region of Ottawa-Carleton and the Ontario Literacy Coalition. He has also provided design, branding, and consulting work for Metropolitan Life, the Sierra Club, Statistics Canada, Treasury Board, and the Department of Canadian Heritage, including extensive work involving applying content management principles, accessibility and common look and feel guidelines to large government Web sites. He has juried competitions internationally, including serving as a jury member for the DaimlerChrysler OpenAd competition.
David is dedicated to realizing the potential of communicators to help improve the human condition and the global environment. He helps local and international audiences align their professional and person values, recognize their power and stewardship role, then challenges them to apply their skills to help repair the World: honestly sharing messages the World desperately needs to hear, rather than messages crafted to mislead.
David’s opinions have been featured in the Financial Post, Marketing, ArabAd, Applied Arts, The ReflexBlue Show, POOL Magazine, HOW magazine and DesignEdge magazines. (Publications and Interviews)
He holds secret security clearance with the Canadian government.
He was nominated for 2006 AFP Ottawa Philanthropy Awards for Outstanding Small Business Philanthropist
Short Norwegian Version of Biography
David Berman har mer enn 25 års erfaring innen strategisk design og kommunikasjon. Som grafisk designer, typograf, strategisk rådgiver og foregangsperson innen etiske spørsmål knyttet til designfaget, har hans visjonære tanker og engasjement gjort ham til en ettertraktet foredragsholder over hele verden.
David har blant annet vært strategisk kommunikasjonsrådgiver for mange av Canada’s største nettsteder. Blant kundene hans er IBM, the International Space Station, the Canadian government, the World Bank og the Aga Khan Foundation. Siden 1984 arbeidet han med å etablere etiske retningslinjer for designere i Canada. The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada innførte hans “Code of ethics” i mai 2000. Disse er i dag innført som en internasjonal modell av Icograda, verdensorganisasjonen for design.
David ble valgt som den første presidenten for the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, som er Nord-Amerikas første autoriserte designorganisasjon. Han bidro til å utvikle organisasjonens struktur samt regler for sertifisering i forhold til yrkesetikk og profesjonelt ansvar. I 1999 ble David tildelt tittelen “Fellow” av the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada for hans innsats i utvikling av etiske retningslinjer og sertifisering av grafiske designere. Tittelen er den høyeste profesjonelle æresbevisningen man kan få innen grafisk design i Canada. I 2000 ble han valgt som Vice-President Ethics of the Society, og har fungert som National Ethics Chair siden 2002. Fra 2005 ble han også utnevnt til Vice-President and Treasurer of Icograda.
Short Spanish Version of Biography
David Berman es miembro del Icograda Executive Board, 2005 2007. David Berman tiene 20 años de experiencia en Diseño Gráfico y comunicación y ha trabajado en la adaptación de los materiales impresos para la distribución electrónica, incluyendo el diseño Web y el desarrollo de interfaces de software. Como conferencista, diseñador gráfico, estratega de las comunicaciones, tipógrafo y consultor, su trabajo profesional se ha presentado en más de 10 países en los últimos años. Entre sus clientes se incluyen la IBM, la International Space Station, el gobierno canadiense, el Banco Mundial, y la fundación Aga Khan.
Short German Version of Biography
David Berman ist ein international renommierter Redner, Typograph und Autor (Do Good Design). Seine Workshops und Seminare bringen die Menschen zum Umdenken. Seit kurzem ist er hochrangiger Berater der Vereinten Nationen und arbeitet zur Frage, wie Design zur Realisierung der UN-Milleniumsziele beitragen kann. David war in mehr als 25 Ländern tätig. Zu seinen Auftraggebern zählen Accenture, IBM und die Internationale Raumstation. Er erhielt Preise für seine Anwendungen, kundenspezifische Schriften und Flughafenwegeleitsysteme. 2000 leitete David die Entwicklung eines Ethikcodes zur Förderung von sozialer Verantwortung und Nachhaltigkeit der Grafikbranche in Kanada. Ähnliche Normen entwarf er für die nationalen Institutionen in den USA, Norwegen und China. David Berman war der erste Präsident der Association of Registered Graphic Designers in Ontario, dem ersten offiziellen Grafikdesignverbands in den USA. Aus seiner Feder stammen die Satzung, die Berufs- und Ehrenordnung und der Text zur Ethik und beruflichen Verantwortung in der Prüfungsordnung. Seit 2002 ist David Nationaler Ethikbeauftragter für Grafik in Kanada. Seit November 2005 ist David Berman Mitglied des Vorstands des globalen Verbandes für Grafik und visuelle Kommunikation IIcograda. In dieses Amt wurde er 2009 zum dritten Mal wieder gewählt.
Biographies tailored specifically to each of our events are available upon request.
For written permission to reproduce any material, or if you require further information or other photographs for publicity purposes, contact us.
Downloads (About David)
For those requiring biographical information or photos of David Berman to publish elsewhere:
Full CV of David Berman (Acrobat PDF, 88K)
High-Level Adviser Appointment Letter from United Nations (Acrobat PDF, 1,455K)
Press biography sheet (8.5″x11″ or A4, 1 page, Acrobat PDF, 128K) (The second side is decorative: all the information is on the first side)
Photo: Head and shoulders high resolution (8-bit grayscale JPG, 1458×1465, 367K)
Photo: Head and shoulders high resolution (8-bit grayscale JPG, 2100×2092, 7″x7″, 300dpi, 1200K)
Photo: Standing high resolution (32-bit TIFF, 457×741, 1.3 megabytes)
For higher resolution photographs, written permission to reproduce any material, or if you require further information for publicity purposes, please contact us.
Publications & Interviews
Travels
Reviewed November 10, 2011