If you’ve ever been handed a brand guide with just three colors and thought, “How am I supposed to make this feel fresh?” — you’re not alone.
And yet, some of the most memorable event branding we’ve created came from working within tight boundaries — especially when it comes to color.
Limiting your palette doesn’t have to mean playing it safe. In fact, constraints can be one of your strongest creative tools — forcing clarity, making decisions easier, and giving your visuals a clean, intentional feel.
A few tricks we love:
- Tints and tones (lightening or darkening a color) can dramatically expand a limited palette. A single brand red becomes five variations with subtle shifts in brightness or saturation.
- Accent colors (like Yale’s pop of green added to its classic blue) can create enough contrast to draw attention without undermining brand consistency.
- White space and typography do a lot of heavy lifting when color options are minimal.
When Chestnut Hill College launched its first Giving Day they were using an alternate logo to celebrate an anniversary year. Instead of adding yet another new logo, we dialed up their brand color — red — and let it carry the event. It stood out in social feeds and still felt right at home with the rest of the school’s identity.
Another organization that demonstrates this approach is UNICEF. Their signature blue is instantly recognizable worldwide, proving that a disciplined, consistent palette can be both powerful and flexible. It’s a reminder that using very few colors can make your brand more memorable and impactful.
Strong branding doesn’t need a lot of elements — it just needs the right ones.
Want to learn more from inside UNICEF’s brand playbook? Join us at the All About Brand on September 18, where Arturo Rago, Brand and Design Lead at UNICEF, will share how to run a brand health check. He’ll show how color is just one part of evaluating your brand’s core, identity, experience, and management — and how to spot when refinement or reinvention might be needed.
Seats are limited — reserve your spot today!
