North American Vexillological Association


The North American Vexillological Association is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the scientific and scholarly study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith, and others. Its membership of 600+ comprises flag scholars, enthusiasts, designers, collectors, conservators, educators, merchants, manufacturers, historians, and hobbyists.
NAVA publishes , an annual peer-reviewed journal and Vexillum, a quarterly magazine. They cover vexillological topics and inter-disciplinary discussion as well as the Association's proceedings and other vexillological news.
Its best-known publication, "Good" Flag, "Bad" Flag, a guidebook to flag design, articulates the basic principles of vexillography and has influenced flag-design efforts across the U.S. and beyond. It has been translated into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Slovenian.
NAVA honors achievement in the field with several honors and awards:
NAVA is the largest vexillological organization in the world and a charter member of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations.

Principal officers, 2019–20

The association's flag consists of a large white "V" separating a blue triangle above from two red triangles on either side. The length of the top side of the blue triangle is the same as the width of the flag. The flag proportion is 2:3.
The "V" represents vexillology. The colors are taken from the flags of the two countries covered by the association: Canada and the United States.

Annual meetings

Since 1967, the association has held annual meetings across the United States and Canada for all those interested in flags to present and discuss research, share their passion for flags, and to honor vexillological achievement. Since 1977, it has marked each meeting with a distinctive flag.