The most important design review for a parish bulletin is not a designer's portfolio. It is a person in their seventies opening the link on a phone, holding it at arm's length, and trying to find the Mass time.
That person is not an edge case. Parish life is full of older readers, people with low vision, people using a phone that is several years old, and people who are simply tired. A bulletin that only works for a young designer with perfect eyesight is not finished.
The small choices that matter
- Body text large enough to read without zooming.
- Strong contrast between text and background.
- Mass times and dates in a clear, consistent list.
- Buttons and links large enough to tap.
- No instruction that requires an app or an account.
- A page that does not jump around while loading.
These choices are not decorative. They determine whether a parishioner can participate. A funeral notice that cannot be read on a phone is a closed door for the person who most needs it.
Do not make the reader work
Pinch-and-zoom is work. Searching a long PDF is work. Guessing which language tab to open is work. The page should do that work for the reader: a clear current week, a clear language switch, a clear archive.
Designing for older eyes also makes the page better for the priest reading on his phone, the translator checking a line, and the visitor who has never been to the parish. Accessibility is not a special edition. It is the main edition.