What leadership looks like

For more than 60 years, the National Association of Independent Schools has provided services, resources, and guidance to independent schools across the United States. But in an ever-changing and increasingly complex educational landscape, NAIS realized it needed to recenter the organization and refresh the brand, to better reflect its role as the national leader for independent schools. NAIS resonated with Grafik’s strategic methodology and thorough approach and we partnered to rethink the brand, messaging, and visual identity, as well as overhaul the NAIS website.

Grafik’s brand team dug deep into every aspect of the association’s work, gathering data; administering surveys to employees, members, and non-members; researching competitors and partner organizations; and interviewing executives—all to learn not only what NAIS is to independent schools across the country, but also what it can be.

After immersing in the quantitative and qualitative data, our team pinpointed positioning opportunities for the organization: NAIS already held a strong position as the only national association representing independent schools—but with many other regional or affiliation-specific associations vying for share of attention, they needed a brand refresh that helped them stand out while reinforcing their place as a forward-looking, vocal leader and vital resource.