NAAIA / National web ecosystem
One national organization. Many ways in.
NAAIA’s rebuild had to connect national storytelling, chapter discovery, membership, events, programs, careers, partnerships, media, commerce, and member access without turning a complex organization into a maze.
The assignment
Make a complex organization easier to enter.
The project brief called for a functional, updated site with clear navigation, an event calendar, easier membership acquisition, chapter discovery, programs, careers, partnerships, media, backend access for the team, and reliable behavior across devices and browsers. The challenge was architectural before it was visual.
01 / Creative thesis
Do not make people understand the org chart before they can participate.
The experience was organized around what people came to do: discover NAAIA, find a chapter, attend something, join, learn, partner, access resources, or return as a member.
02 / Information architecture
Build pathways, not a directory dump.
Wild Monkey’s feature matrix covered global search, chapter mapping, events, programs, careers, partnerships, media, FAQs, membership, and contact. Those features only become useful when the hierarchy makes the next step obvious.
The system separated discovery from member utility while keeping both inside one recognizable national experience.
03 / National + chapter system
One brand. More than one front door.
Rebuild notes documented a national site, chapter sites and subdomains, careers, history, e-commerce, and partner access as connected parts of the same ecosystem. The design job was to preserve recognizable NAAIA language while giving each destination a clearer role.
The result is a system that can support both the national story and the grassroots reality of chapter-level engagement without making them compete for attention.
04 / Utility over ornament
A national site still has to help one person do one thing.
Event discovery, chapter lookup, membership, contact, careers, press resources, partner information, and member access were treated as working journeys rather than decorative sections. Backend access for NAAIA’s team was part of the requirement too: the system had to stay useful after launch.
Explore NAAIASelected work / 02
Complexity belongs in the system — not in the user’s way.
Next: a legacy manufacturer with decades of equity and an identity that needed to catch up.