David Berman (graphic designer)
Encyclopedia
David Berman is a Canadian communication designer and author, Fellow and Ethics Chair of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, vice-president/treasurer/Sustainability Chair of Icograda
, President of the first elected board of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, and an international keynote speaker.
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 http://www.gdc.net 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 http://www.icograda.org. This code was used as template for the code of ethics adopted by Grafill :no:Grafill (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, Berman was elected to the board of Icograda
, and currently serves as Vice-President and Treasurer, and re-elected for additional terms in 2007 and 2009, at which time became Sustainability Chair.
In 2008, Berman was named a Regional Ambassador for INDEX:.
In January 2009, Berman's book on design and social responsibility, Do GoodDesign (aka Do Good Design
), was published by AIGA Press and Peachpit Press. Chinese edition was released: October 27, 2009.
In April 2009, Berman was named a Regional Representative for North America for the World Summit Awards on e-content, a UNESCO initiative.
In October 2009, Berman accepted an appointment as a High Level Adviser of the United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UNDESA-GAID) on how design can be used to help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.
In 2010, his book, Do Good Design
, had editions added in Korean and Indonesian.
David is the uncle of the American cartoonist, Sam Shelman Wachman, generally considered Creator of Myeofisa.
He is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers http://www.canadianspeakers.org/, the International Federation for Professional Speakers http://www.iffps.org/, and Meeting Planners International http://www.mpiweb.org.
There is more biographical information about David Berman at www.davidberman.com http://www.davidberman.com/about.
Designhttp://www.davidberman.com/dogood (aka Do Good Design
) with foreword by Erik Spiekermann
, AIGA Press/Pearson/Peachpit
http://www.peachpit.com/dogood/New Riders (book, 2009): Vint Cerf
( "father of the Internet") says of Do Good Design
, "I found great resonance with David Berman's ideas."
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. http://www.davidberman.com/NewFormatForCanadianLegislation.pdf
ArabAd Magazine: "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Web Sites" by David Berman (English) http://www.davidberman.com/resources/BahrainSevenHabits.pdf
Berman currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
"GDC Member Elected to Icograda Board" and "Canada Commended for Contributions to Icograda" from the GDC National Newsletter Fall/Winter 2005 http://www.davidberman.com/GDCNationalNewsletterFallWinter2005.pdf
Financial Post Interview with David Berman: "Don't scrimp on company's e-presence" (English)http://www.davidberman.com/resources/nationalpostbermaninterview.pdf
Culture.ca interview with David Berman (English) http://www.culture.ca/perspective-pointdevue-e.jsp?data=200412/tcp01100122004e.html%20
Klik Magazine (Slovenia) "Everything is in Values": Interview with David Berman on the European Magdalena Festival and social responsibility (English) http://www.davidberman.com/resources/KlikMagazineBermanInterview.pdf
Applied Arts magazine (Canada): Cover story interview with David Berman, April 2003 (English) http://www.davidberman.com/resources/AppliedArtsBermanInterview.pdf
David Berman's mission statement (English) http://www.davidberman.com/missionberman5767.pdf
Icograda
International Council of Graphic Design Associations was founded in London in 1963. Icograda is the world body for professional communication design and visual communication. Icograda network members include professional organisations, design promotion bodies, design media and design education...
, President of the first elected board of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario, and an international keynote speaker.
Biography
David Berman was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.In high school, David created and produced The Apprentice magazine which was distributed in four countries. While training at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in computer science and at Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
in psychology and typography, he became involved with the student press and redesigned The Charlatan
The Charlatan
The Charlatan is a student newspaper at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.It is published by a not-for-profit corporation, Charlatan Publications Inc., and is independent of student governments and university administration. Papers are free, and are available in news-stands both on and off...
. 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 http://www.gdc.net ratified his draft nationally in May 2000, and it is now used as a template for national graphic design organizations by Icograda
Icograda
International Council of Graphic Design Associations was founded in London in 1963. Icograda is the world body for professional communication design and visual communication. Icograda network members include professional organisations, design promotion bodies, design media and design education...
, the International Council of Graphic Design Associations http://www.icograda.org. This code was used as template for the code of ethics adopted by Grafill :no:Grafill (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, Berman was elected to the board of Icograda
Icograda
International Council of Graphic Design Associations was founded in London in 1963. Icograda is the world body for professional communication design and visual communication. Icograda network members include professional organisations, design promotion bodies, design media and design education...
, and currently serves as Vice-President and Treasurer, and re-elected for additional terms in 2007 and 2009, at which time became Sustainability Chair.
In 2008, Berman was named a Regional Ambassador for INDEX:.
In January 2009, Berman's book on design and social responsibility, Do Good
Do Good Design
Do Good Design: How Design Can Change The World is a book by Canadian designer David B. Berman, with a foreword by Erik Spiekermann, published by Peachpit Press in January 2009...
), was published by AIGA Press and Peachpit Press. Chinese edition was released: October 27, 2009.
In April 2009, Berman was named a Regional Representative for North America for the World Summit Awards on e-content, a UNESCO initiative.
In October 2009, Berman accepted an appointment as a High Level Adviser of the United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (UNDESA-GAID) on how design can be used to help fulfill the Millennium Development Goals.
In 2010, his book, Do Good Design
Do Good Design
Do Good Design: How Design Can Change The World is a book by Canadian designer David B. Berman, with a foreword by Erik Spiekermann, published by Peachpit Press in January 2009...
, had editions added in Korean and Indonesian.
David is the uncle of the American cartoonist, Sam Shelman Wachman, generally considered Creator of Myeofisa.
He is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers http://www.canadianspeakers.org/, the International Federation for Professional Speakers http://www.iffps.org/, and Meeting Planners International http://www.mpiweb.org.
There is more biographical information about David Berman at www.davidberman.com http://www.davidberman.com/about.
Selected publications
Do GoodDo Good Design
Do Good Design: How Design Can Change The World is a book by Canadian designer David B. Berman, with a foreword by Erik Spiekermann, published by Peachpit Press in January 2009...
) with foreword by Erik Spiekermann
Erik Spiekermann
Erik Spiekermann is a German typographer and designer. He is a professor at the University of the Arts Bremen....
, AIGA Press/Pearson/Peachpit
Peachpit
Peachpit is an educational publisher and has been publishing books, PDFs, and videos on the latest in graphic design, desktop publishing, multimedia, web design and development, digital video, and general computing since 1986...
http://www.peachpit.com/dogood/New Riders (book, 2009): Vint Cerf
Vint Cerf
Vinton Gray "Vint" Cerf is an American computer scientist, who is recognized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with American computer scientist Bob Kahn...
( "father of the Internet") says of Do Good Design
Do Good Design
Do Good Design: How Design Can Change The World is a book by Canadian designer David B. Berman, with a foreword by Erik Spiekermann, published by Peachpit Press in January 2009...
, "I found great resonance with David Berman's ideas."
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. http://www.davidberman.com/NewFormatForCanadianLegislation.pdf
ArabAd Magazine: "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Web Sites" by David Berman (English) http://www.davidberman.com/resources/BahrainSevenHabits.pdf
Recent career
Berman's speaking and judging engagements since 2000 have taken him on a path that includes Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Jordan, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macau, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United Nations.Berman currently resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
Selected articles
David's thoughts and work have been featured in the Globe and Mail, Sydney Herald-Sun, Ottawa Citizen, and Financial Post newspapers; Applied Arts, ArabAd, Communication Arts, Design, Designboom, Desktop, DesignEdge, Eye, Graphis, How, and Marketing magazines; as well as CCTV China TV, ABC and CBC Radio."GDC Member Elected to Icograda Board" and "Canada Commended for Contributions to Icograda" from the GDC National Newsletter Fall/Winter 2005 http://www.davidberman.com/GDCNationalNewsletterFallWinter2005.pdf
Financial Post Interview with David Berman: "Don't scrimp on company's e-presence" (English)http://www.davidberman.com/resources/nationalpostbermaninterview.pdf
Culture.ca interview with David Berman (English) http://www.culture.ca/perspective-pointdevue-e.jsp?data=200412/tcp01100122004e.html%20
Klik Magazine (Slovenia) "Everything is in Values": Interview with David Berman on the European Magdalena Festival and social responsibility (English) http://www.davidberman.com/resources/KlikMagazineBermanInterview.pdf
Applied Arts magazine (Canada): Cover story interview with David Berman, April 2003 (English) http://www.davidberman.com/resources/AppliedArtsBermanInterview.pdf
David Berman's mission statement (English) http://www.davidberman.com/missionberman5767.pdf
Multimedia
- http://www.36point.com/archives/2010/07/the-reflex-blue-show-season-3-episode-10-david-berman-interview.html - author David B. Berman interviewed by 36point radio on design and social responsibility, July 2010
- http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bydesign/stories/2009/2648149.htm - author David B. Berman speaks with Alan Saunders on design and social responsibility on ByDesign, on ABC Australian national radio, August 12, 2009
- http://www.themonthly.com.au/weapons-mass-deception-design-and-responsibility-david-berman-1889 - author David B. Berman speaks on design and social responsibility at State of Design Festival, Sydney, Australia, July 2009
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8aqhhyGSnU - author David B. Berman speaks on design and social responsibility at Hong Kong Design Week, January 2006