The National Grid is a graphic design fanzine operating loosely in the shadowy areas between academia and professional practice, and between art and design. The first issue was published in March 2006. The National Grid is published twice a year. It is independently published in New Zealand and is distributed internationally.

The National Grid was initially set up to provide a platform and point of distribution for certain sorts of projects and writing that were considered to be untenable within our peculiar national context. The hope was—and still is—that New Zealand graphic design might achieve a greater sense of literacy.

In this sense it has been important for The National Grid to operate within a broader international context—while always trying to maintain a sort of girl-next-door status at home.