Happy Anniversary (to us)!

 

Paluch Connections just passed our one-year anniversary this week! Especially during this pandemic year, we have tried to be a bright spot for all of you bulletin editors. Looking back over the past year, I can see articles on a wide variety of topics for bulletin editors in many different situations. Many of you receive the blog updates from Paluch Connections in your email box, and so may not be regular visitors to the blog itself. May I suggest that you take the time in the coming weeks to visit paluchblog.jspaluch.com and discover what you may have missed over the past year? Here is a small sampling of the titles of our posts from the past twelve months:

Treasures from Our Tradition

The Mighty Template

Common Bulletin Layout Mistakes

Not All PDFs Are Created Equal

Shortcuts for Busy Bulletin Editors

When Copy/Paste is a No-No

It Was Here a Minute Ago!

There are many more informative and useful articles that you won’t want to miss. 

When you visit the blog page, look over to the column on the right, where it says “Blog Archive.” Click on the little triangle arrow next to 2020 or 2021, and then again on the arrow next to any of the months to see what treasures are here for you. Perhaps you will find (or rediscover) just the tip you didn’t know you needed!

We promise to keep posting more informative and helpful ideas for you in the coming year. Happy Anniversary to us and to you!

Wordsmith

 

It can be a challenge to design a page that consists mostly of text. It can also be a challenge for your reader. The eye is more comfortable navigating in shorter column-width spaces rather than across a full page of copy. Luckily, there are many techniques to break up lengthy articles and make the page more visually appealing to the reader’s eye and your overall design.

An easy way to start off a page with lots of text is a drop cap. Drop caps add visual appeal and if your bulletin allows for it, color. 

Another great way to break up a long section of text is with columns. Smaller sections of type make reading easier on the eye and the division of such a large amount of text is more visually appealing in column format.

Another simple element is infusing color (or font attributes such as bold and italic if color is not part of your bulletin design) to draw the eye. People typically read by skimming the page for topics of interest. Adding visual breaks through color or bold typefaces make it easier for the reader to recognize topic changes or important elements of a large story.

 

Finally, use a pull-quote (or two!). A pull-quote is a small section of the text pulled out of the article and placed in a larger typeface to draw attention. Pull-quotes are typically outlined with rule lines or placed in shaded text box as seen in this example. This typographical technique grabs attention and is typically used to place emphasis on a section of text. An interesting and well-placed pull-quote invites the reader to return to the story.

 

In the end, the main objective is to make the layout appealing so that your reader is invited into the article and actually does that—read it! After all, the message is the most important part.