For catering businesses, hotels, and restaurants, a menu is an asset of value and importance. To create an attractive menu design, several aspects, such as color combinations, typography, and layout are considered. These combine to evoke feelings of joy, satisfaction and of course, hunger! A carte du jour is a virtual appetizer; it enthuses desire and craving in waiting customers, leaving a lasting impact on their minds. And a well-designed menu is just that.
Let’s delve into the 7 key elements of a responsive menu design:
1. Customer-Centric Layout
Has it ever occurred to you that a stylized menu design is a game-changer? Not only does it cater to customer preferences, but it also affects their purchasing decisions. An eye-catching menu layout is the essence of the restaurant’s aura and aesthetics.
A well-designed menu can communicate the brand identity of a hotel or restaurant effectively. For instance, if the interior décor comprises tones or gradients of blue and black, the menu should either be aligned with the same color shades or in contrast. Typography should also support the overall design structure.
According to a Tourism and Hospitality Research article, a good menu resembles a map that bridges the gap between hunger and customer satisfaction. In addition, it increases a customer’s perceived value. In another study, menus with evocative monikers are rated better than those with ordinary labels. Customers tend to focus more on quality rather than price.
Two pivotal aspects of menu design are white space and aspect ratio. Both are aligned according to the requirements of the designer. A 5-star hotel owner, for example, would prefer a landscape orientation, 1:1.5 aspect ratio (for picture additions), and optimized use of white space for the menu. For digital menus, an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 4:3 is preferred.
Source: pexels.com
Successful businesses cater to menu psychology for higher revenues. With an attractive design, customers order their meals without much thinking about the price. Brand experts opt for best practices like limiting choices, humanizing dishes, or infusing nostalgia to achieve their objectives.
The strategic placement or menu engineering of items is also an effective strategy for increasing visual appeal. Some restaurants and hotels place popular dishes in the corner while adding the high-profit ones in the center. Others highlight special dishes in menu sections or add a separate page or insert for beverages or desserts.
In the menu design phase, professionals incorporate several key elements, such as bleed, gradients, hand lettering, and kerning, for better outcomes. These minor adjustments create a mesmerizing impact on the customer, influencing their decisions to visit frequently. The menu, in turn, becomes a tool for optimal growth for hotels and businesses.
Below are some of the most popular menus in the world:
A La Carte
Static
Cycle
Du Jour
2. Sustainable Printing Materials
Today, eco-conscious choices in designs can help drive your brand to success and this is even more so true for the food industry. Sustainable choices for menu printing can attract a wider audience, especially the popular demographic, Gen Z. Material selection is also a prime attribute to enhance customer experience and loyalty. So go with recycled paper, cloth or maybe glass for printing your menus.
Generally, customers would prefer an attractive menu with clear labeling rather than a cramped one. More so, it should be pleasing to the eye. A customer observes two main aspects on a menu: Edibles and Prices. To ensure high brand resonance, use a material that syncs with the hotel or restaurant’s environment. For example, if the place consists of wooden furniture and walls, a combination of wood and paper or wood and plastic can be effective. Make sure that your restaurant logos are visible in print and digital variations at first glance.
Below is a list of common menu designs for different occasions or places:
Choosing the right type of materials for menus is another critical factor to consider. According to a reliable source, laminated or waterproof paper is the best choice for restaurants or fast-food eateries, especially where kids are present. For high-end corporate meetings and dates, a fiber-paper menu is a better choice.
Pro Tip: Don’t use flimsy sheets as they soil, tear, and crease easily.
Source: pexels.com/Rachel Claire
3. Distinct Prices
Do you know the most important thing in a professional menu design is the price list? It’s the customer’s perception of value over price. Make sure that your prices are distinguishable and fair so that potential customers keep coming back.
Understanding your target demographics is an essential element in creating a menu. That’s why you need a proper menu pricing model. Some of the most useful models are:
Menus with no currency signs
Limited menu design for farm-to-table
Fixed priced menus
Have you ever seen a menu that offers decimal-based prices? For example, if a frappe has an actual price of $10 but is listed as $9.99. This is called ‘strategic pricing’. Such a menu design compels the customer to purchase the specific product, perceiving it as an affordable choice. Another strategy is to group food items and portray them as a ‘bundle’ or ’deal’.
Every color comes with its uniqueness and traits: Red, orange, or yellow empower energy and stimulate appetite, whereas green and brown relate to healthy and meat-oriented foods respectively.
Companies and restaurants align their pricing strategy with the color scheme. For example, KFC’s menu design reflects a combination of red, white, and black colors, much like its brand logo. You might notice that the prices on special deals are often highlighted with a specific color and font style.
According to an article on Toast, 35% of individuals say that price is the second most important aspect when selecting a hotel or restaurant. This statistic depicts the importance of other essential elements, such as menu design and high aesthetics.
Source: ZillionDesigns
4. Scannable Formats
If you’re a food enthusiast who likes to enjoy quality cuisine at hotels or restaurants, then you must be familiar with the variety of menu design formats. Let’s take a look at the different formats for use:
• Single Page
Some hotels and restaurants prefer changing menus due to seasonal additions. A single-page menu works well for them. It is available in portrait or landscape orientation, usually laminated with plastic material. This menu helps individuals scan products with ease. You can place menu items according to the eye movement patterns.
• Two Panel Single Fold
Resembling an open book, a two-panel single fold design offers more space for food and beverage items to be listed. Mostly, the dotted line price pattern is used to ensure easy navigation and selection. You can play with different colors and fonts and add special offers in separate sections to impress the viewer.
• Book Form
The book-form menu displays a classy appearance, especially with foam or leather covering. In most cases, owners or managers prefer application of similar brand elements to create a streamlined appeal in the minds of the customers. Examples include bold or italic fonts, company logo, and same color theme.
• Digital
Screened or digital menus are the latest addition in the food industry. Restaurants, such as Taco Bell and McDonald’s prefer digital menus to streamline operations and enhance customer experience. The visibility becomes more clear and transparent for the visitor. And with images to showcase food variety, the restaurant’s aesthetics increase all the more.
Source: ZillionDesigns
5. Creative Styling
As stated above, styling your menu attracts more attention and customers. With different types of menu designs available for use, you need to select the appropriate one. For example, the Chef’s Table is used in anniversaries and the Table d’Hote is preferred for business dinners. Ensure that the menu style complements the interior space of the structure, whether it’s a restaurant or hotel.
To create an attractive style, you can hire graphic designers to help with material selection, images, and shapes. For small-size bistros, a water-resistant paper and plastic menu works well. Exclusive bars and eateries manage wooden or glass menus for more aesthetics. Adding shapes and pictures of food and beverage items can appeal to young teens and kids.
To enhance visual appeal, a designer can add an extra touch to the menu design by creating sections or a separate menu for special meals by the hotel management or cuisines that need unique branding.
Larger, high-quality images can increase the appeal of the restaurant and influence the decision of the customer. Typically, 1920 x 1080 px is the optimal size for an image on a digital screen. An aspect ratio of 16:9 aligns well with the images.
Pro Tip: Don’t overdo the use of images on a menu. It does not look pleasing to the customer.
6. Video Animations in Digital Menus
With static menus gradually becoming a thing of the past, hotels and food courts are choosing digital menus for higher visual appeal and aesthetics. They are cost-effective- every customer can view the menu in the eatery at a single glance. Moreover, the screen showcases items in motion as well. The best part of it is that every movement is not equal in speed.
Several animations can affect the customer’s perceptions and emotions about the brand. For example, steaming hot coffee, frying raw chicken, or a sizzling steak. Besides food items, objects can be animated as well, such as twigs, buntings, etc.
According to LogicalDM, video guarantees a 3-6% sales increase for brands and food businesses. To increase attraction for the target audience, designers and animators can add GIFs and high-definition clips to the screen. These actions reduce wait times significantly.
Menus for each period, such as morning or evening can also increase views and sales. A customer searching for a specific meal in the morning section would take less time than the one who skims through the entire menu (without periods). To increase efficiency, different menu design templates can be added to the screen too.
One of the best features of a digital animated menu is the ease in updating content. If a food item has to be added or removed without the added printing cost; all it needs is a click! Customers would not have to ask for an item’s availability. Moreover, the screen user can change the name of a food dish or beverage if it is erroneously written.
Source: iStock/FG Trade
7. Easy Readability
Have you ever seen a menu designed with spelling errors? Does it appeal to you as a customer? Probably, the attraction seems to wane away and the interest fades. Some may question the restaurant’s integrity and food quality! That’s why proofreading the content is a necessary element in enhancing the visual aesthetics.
A strong grip on the language is necessary for the proofreader. Before submission, every part needs to be checked and verified. Avoid unnecessary punctuation marks and use tools like Grammarly for a flawless result. And don’t forget the price tags of different food items and beverages. It can be an embarrassing moment for the customer and the management.
Proofreading removes the tinge of imperfections that create problems in reading text. A hotel’s menu design should be attractive, right from theme to typography. The writing style should align with the brand’s personality. Open Sans and Helvetica are the most common font styles in restaurants.
Source: Unsplash/Khanh Tu Nguyen Huy
Wrapping Up
These are some of the elements in menu design that you should keep in mind. It is important to integrate your brand elements along as menus are an important factor in driving recognition. Before getting started, you can get a professionally designed logo in different formats to feature on your menu design. Then, consider the elements mentioned above and collaborate with a designer to create a menu with visual appeal.
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