David Berman

David Berman, FGDC, R.G.D. is a thought leader and author who 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 30 years of experience in design and strategic communications, including Web design, environmental graphics, airport signage systems, way finding 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 50 countries.

Berman is internationally-acclaimed for presenting keynotes, workshops, seminars, and books that change attitudes. He also provides custom on-site training, consultation, and one-on-one coaching. Berman makes the complicated fun, understandable and memorable.

Berman has been called the "David Suzuki of design." Since 1984, Berman 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.

Berman 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.

Berman is also an Invited Expert to the W3C, the publishers of the WCAG standard for e-accessibility.

Berman is one of perhaps a few hundred people globally to hold CPACC certification, the World’s only certification for accessibility professionals. (This certification is issued by the IAAP (International Association of Accessibility Professionals). IAAP is a division of G3ICT, for which Berman is an International Advisor.

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, and a third term in 2009.

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. Berman 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. Berman'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.

Berman has been actively involved in volunteer activities since his youth. In his professional career, he has for many years been a supporter of organizations such as Inter Pares and CISV. More recently Berman has been working on projects to assist with tiger conservation and the search for new habitat in Thailand.

Berman 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 personal 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.

Berman's opinions have been featured in the Financial Post, Ottawa Citizen, Marketing, ArabAd, Applied Arts, DesignEdge, Item, and Print magazines. (Publications and Interviews)

He holds enhanced security clearance with the Canadian government. He is a National Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and the International Federation for Professional Speakers.

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