Accessibility and branding are often set against each other, as if one has to give way. The real problem is much narrower. This piece is for communications teams and designers who own a palette and have been told it fails.
What the standard asks for
WCAG 2.2 asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for text, and 3:1 for large text, which it defines as at least 18 point, or 14 point bold. User interface components and meaningful graphics need 3:1 against what sits next to them. Colour also cannot be the only way information is shown. Text that is part of a logo or brand name has no contrast requirement.
This is the most common failure there is. WebAIM’s 2026 study of the top million home pages found low-contrast text on 83.9% of them, with an average of 34 instances a page.
“Most palettes do not fail. Particular pairings fail.”
What that looks like on a real palette
Our own logo uses six colours, one for each language in the display at the top of our home page. Against white, the blue measures 6.16:1, the violet 5.72:1 and the pink 4.84:1, so all three could carry body text. The orange measures 4.30:1, the green 4.38:1 and the amber 3.65:1. Those three fail for small text and pass for large text.
We did not change the colours. We changed their jobs. All six appear at display size and in the logo. All the small text on the site is near-black or dark grey, at 7.23:1 or better, even the small caption directly above the coloured display. The brand keeps its colour, and no one has to read 14-pixel amber.
How to check a palette
- List every pair: each text colour on each background it will sit on, including hover states and text over photographs.
- Mark each pair as good for body text, good for large text only, or failing.
- Give each colour a job from that table: text, display, fill or decoration.
- Where a colour has to carry small text, darken it slightly rather than replacing it. Readers recognise the hue, not the exact value.
- Find what colour alone is saying, such as links, errors and chart lines, and add an underline, an icon or a label.
Write it down
A palette survives handover when the guidelines say what each colour may do, not only what its value is. Put the table in the brand guide. The next person to build a campaign page will not have to work it out, and the brand will still look like itself.