Give the main message a clear reading position.
Accessibility is not only a typeface choice. A reader needs to see what the item is, where to start, which sections belong together and what action or information matters now. Give headings, prices, dates, instructions, contacts and warnings a clear order. If every block looks equally urgent, the reader has to work harder before they have read a word.
For a folded leaflet, imagine the sequence from the closed cover through each opening. For a book or booklet, imagine someone returning to a page later. For packaging, consider what is visible on a shelf, in the hand and after the pack is opened. The physical journey is part of the information hierarchy.
Use contrast for information, not only decoration.
Colour can organise and energise a page, but it should not be the only way a reader tells two things apart. Check the light-dark contrast of meaningful text, icons, rules and charts against their background. Small pale text over a photograph, a gradient or a glossy colour field can be hard to read even when it looks elegant on screen. A label, pattern, heading or clear positional cue can support colour rather than relying on it alone.
Choose type for the words that actually need to be read.
Thin, condensed, all-capital or highly decorative type can be effective in a display moment and difficult in a paragraph, instruction, time, web address or phone number. Review the actual copy at the finished scale. Look at character shapes that are easy to confuse, long lines, closely packed lines and the relationship between type weight and its background. There is no single font or point size that makes every printed item accessible; the reader, use, information density and physical format all matter.
Paper, gloss and folds change the reading condition.
A surface that works for a photographic cover may make a dense information page harder to use under certain light. A fold can split an instruction, a curve can interrupt a line of type and a small panel can create a very short or crowded reading measure. These are reasons to test the physical format, not to ban a particular material or finish. If a reading concern is important, name it in the brief and ask what proof, sample or real-size check can address it.
Test with the intended reader whenever you can.
A designer who already knows the message can read through a confusing layout without noticing the effort. Give a printed draft to someone who does not know the content and ask them to find the key action, date, price, safety line or contact. If the item serves an audience with a particular reading requirement, involve that audience or its responsible representative early. The result is more informative than trying to declare a generic design “accessible” from a desktop screen.
Treat physical and digital access as separate requirements.
Digital accessibility standards can inform decisions about contrast, hierarchy and alternatives, but a printed leaflet, book or carton has its own reader, format, surface and use context. Contractual, public-service, legal or certification requirements need review against the relevant standard by the responsible specialist.