A thoughtful approach to nonprofit event branding

You're planning your next big event and wondering: should it have its own unique look, or stay close to your organization's branding? And if you do go unique, how do you keep it connected to who you are?

With a history of excellent event design, Michelle and Valerie from our team sat down to talk through their approach to event branding. They covered when unique branding makes sense, where to look for inspiration, and how to maintain connection to your core brand.

Here are methodologies and thoughtful approaches to consider for your next event.

When should an event have unique branding vs. organizational branding?

There are many factors to consider.

For one, there is budget. An event that uses existing branding and style guides will likely take a little less design effort to produce the needed materials.

If it's your general annual fundraiser, it is not uncommon to stay close to your core brand. People should recognize it as yours immediately.

But if it's a special campaign, a theme, a milestone anniversary, or you're launching or delivering something new, you might want your designer to have more creative freedom. The event design can stand out more while still feeling connected to your organization.

Bring your thoughts about your experience and goals to a conversation with your designer. Have this conversation early so everyone can align on expectations for both creative direction and scope of work.

Keep in mind, even when an event’s design is unique it should still have a connection to your organization’s visual brand

Not every event merits a unique branding and design treatment. But when they do, your event design should feel special, but it also needs to feel like yours.

This is a balance we navigate and feel strongly about. We aim to create a look and feel that reflects the uniqueness of the event while staying connected to your brand. The consistency is important as it is the foundation of the trust and connection you strive to make.

Sources of inspiration for branding and design of an event

There are some strategic, go-to sources for inspiration that we explore for every event project.

Your existing brand

We start with your organization's brand style guide. Whether we created the style guide or inherited it, this is our first stop. It is important that your designer is deeply familiar with what makes your visuals uniquely yours.

Your style guide is a source of inspiration in both obvious and subtle ways. A great example is how Valerie on our team describes using the colors in the brand color palette that are not as frequently used to inspire a palette for an event. Similarly, we look for shapes used in the core brand like the doors in The Door’s logo for their Opening Doors youth summit branding.

Your event theme

Organizations often have a theme for an event. If your theme is something like "building community," we will dig into this with you. What does this mean specifically to your organization? What does building community sound like? Feel like? And, of course, look like?

The same theme can look very different for an education nonprofit versus a housing organization.

It is important for the design team and the organization to share the same interpretation of the theme.

Your venue

This one may surprise you, but the space itself is often a wonderful source of inspiration for our design choices. You may be having an outdoor event surrounded by nature or have a storied venue with iconic architecture. Consideration of the space in the design materials can help make everything feel more cohesive when people arrive.

When we designed materials for The Foundling's Fall Fête event at Cipriani’s Broadway location in NYC, the venue's arched entryway and geometric ceiling patterns became part of the design.

When guests walked in, the materials they'd been seeing for weeks connected them to the space even before they entered it.

When you have unique branding for an event you should also have a style guide

You are investing in creating a unique design for your event. You want all the assets to be consistent no matter who is creating them. A style guide can help.

The style guide can be simple and should list the specific colors being used, the fonts, and any patterns or shapes that tie everything together. It can be as brief as a one-pager.

These should serve as guides and inspiration when creating materials for the event. When we are creating assets we will use the style guide that we create. And when your staff or other event partners create assets, so should they.

Often our client partners will create some of the assets they need. Common examples include name tags, small table signs, or email graphics.

The style guide becomes your reference for maintaining a polished, professional look across everything.

For annual events: give your designer room to evolve

If you're running the same event year after year, talk with your designer about keeping it current. Your theme might shift slightly. You might be celebrating a milestone. You might be at a different venue.

These are all opportunities to try something visually different while keeping the core connection to your brand. The goal isn't to start from scratch every year. It's to make sure each year feels relevant and worth attending again.

What success looks like

Great event design creates an experience. When someone receives your invitation, they should feel excited to attend. When they walk into your event, the design should enhance the space. Every piece should work together to showcase the quality of your organization.

This is when design becomes more than decoration. It becomes a tool that helps people connect to your mission.

And when your materials reflect the quality of work you actually do, something shifts. Your team feels more confident. Attendees take notice. Sponsors see the organization you've worked so hard to build.

Action steps

If you're planning an event, here are some things to help you think about and gather resources to kick the project off right.

• What is unique about your event? Is it a milestone year, a new program launch, or a themed campaign?
• Where are you planning to have the event? If you've already booked a space, gather and/or ask for photos from the venue.
• Is this the first time for this event or is a recurring one? If this is a recurring event, gather some design materials from previous ones if working with a new designer.
• Start the conversation early. Talk with your designer about budget, creative scope, and whether this event should have its own look or stay close to your core brand.

Planning an event and want design support? We'd love to to see if we'd be a good fit. Reach out to start a conversation.