Menu Design

Does your Menu Design really matter?

It’s a pretty straightforward question. Essentially you want to eat right? You don’t care about the fonts and the colours – okay maybe some of the food pics will have an influence on what you decide to consume – but no one really cares about what a menu looks like.

Hate to break it to you Microsoft Word Template, but yes people do care. A menu is essentially a form of adverting, cultivating your guest on what they can expect from your establishment. Safe to say most, if not every, guest will have a look at the menu, so an appealing and clean design is imperative if you want to expand on who and what your brand offers. The aim of branding being for people to have a look at your menu and immediately create an association – be it with your logo, your fonts, your colours used. All these things add up…and we still haven’t eaten! It’s all about the experience, to make your guests excited so that they come back again, or better yet – Invite friends and family to your restaurant on their next outing!

How do I design it?

Well first things first, who are you? Apart from it conveying your brand’s personality, it should be thought through so that clients enjoy AND remember you. One of the best examples I can think of, is Nando’s. https://www.nandos.ae/ Any and everyone who’s South African has seen at least one of their adverts. They are quirky, fun, and speaking out of experience I love their food. And yes, safe to say I keep going back! So, assuming you are sitting with your designer and not Clippy – The extinct Microsoft Word mascot – share your dream, why this restaurant? Why these items? It is important for your designer to feel the same love for the brand as you do. After all it’s not just a design. It’s your dream we’re building here!

Can a badly designed Menu affect my business?

Afraid so. I often read some of the food descriptions and feel hesitant to ask the Waiter, “what exactly is this item?” With that said, your target market should have a huge influence on the look and feel of your menu. Are you a fast Food Joint? is this a Wine and Dine Candlelit experience? If it’s the latter I would not expect the menu to have any food item photos featured at all. If there are candles, then the font should be fairly legible as well. Are there weekly or monthly specials? Remember we want to create an experience, one that entices diners to come back..again…again…and again!

How’s your Menu Looking?

Would you like some input on how your Menu stacks up? We design and keep designing because we enjoy seeing brands grow and expand into their own. And when it comes to designing menu’s…We’ve done a few…”a LOT a few” actually. Give us a shout, we have a killer coffee machine, we would love to meet you and see the impact branding has had on your business!