TODAY'S SURVEY

POLL: Menu Design

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What style do you prefer
for your menus?

	Highly graphical, no logo
	Simple design, my logo
	Highly graphical, my logo
	Other

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Increasing Sales with Your Restaurant Menu

Restaurant Menu Design Tips

When sitting down to design your menu, make sure that the menu layout is specific to your restaurant or event. Brainstorm a bit, thinking about what makes your restaurant unique. The thoughts that come to mind will help you to give your menu a unique style and flavor all its own. However, there are some general principles of graphic design and marketing which you can add to your menu layout, for a professional and eye- catching look.

Principle #1: Menu Fonts

The fonts you choose should suit your restaurant's style. Try not to use more than three or four different fonts, as a general rule. The more fonts you use, the busier your menu will seem to be. For example, use one font for your menu section headings, one font for subheadings, and one font for your item descriptions and prices. If you have an elderly clientele, large, easy-to-read fonts are best.

Principle #2: Menu Copy

Describing your dishes in a way that catches a customer's attention can be difficult. Sit down with your chef and some of your regulars who really love your food. Ask them to describe the dishes and ingredients and take note of what they say.

So how do you write menu copy that sizzles? There's no right answer to that question, but there are a number of strategies that good writers use to describe things, food included:

1. Remember—it doesn't have to be poetry. The menu copy doesn't have to follow every rule of grammar. All it has to do is describe your dish in a way that makes a customer say "This sounds good!"
2. Understand that no one nails it the first time. Overwrite each description, knowing that in the end you'll probably use half of what you started with. Don't hold anything back; you never know where that perfect phrase is going to turn up, and it's much easier to prune down than it is to build up.
3. Food is the only art form that engages each of the five senses. Explore each one in your description.
4. In addition, there are qualities that only food has, such as its texture in the mouth (crispy, creamy, etc.). Hot and cold also fall into this category.
5. Got the perfect word right on the tip of your tongue? Sites like Thesaurus.com are fantastic resources for synonyms. If you really want to hit your readers in the gut, find common root words with sites like the Online Etymological Dictionary.
6. Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it describes. "Sizzle" is a great example. The "sss" sound leading into the "izzz" sound resembles the sound something makes when it...well, sizzles! Look for more words like this as you write menu descriptions that pop.
7. Proofread carefully, because spelling mistakes can signal low-quality dining to your guests.
8. Create as many rough drafts as you need until you get it right. Share them with other senior level employees, chefs, select customers. This will give you valuable feedback before your menu goes to print, saving you time and ensuring that everyone from your patrons to your owner will be satisfied.

Principle #3: Balance

Graphic design is a game of shapes and balance. Keep the following ideas in mind:

• Think of both images and text as objects. This is easy to do—just let your eyes go blurry when you look at your designs.
• Negative space (white space) is important, not necessarily wasted space. Think of these as the "activators" of your graphics, headings and text.
• Graphics look good when they're very big or very small. If your graphic is large, consider positioning it somewhat off the page, such that only a portion shows on your actual menu. Offset this large image with a smaller, related accent graphic.
• Balance and symmetry are related, but they are not the same. Here is an example of a symmetrical menu. Here is an example of a balanced menu. Note that while both menus feature geometric shapes, the second menu breaks free of normal symmetry, using its shapes, headings and text to form a layout of balance and space.

In general, classier restaurants tend toward symmetrical, center-justified presentations. Restaurants devoted to fun, family and good times tend toward balanced designs which may contain elements of symmetry, but which are a bit more free in their design sense. If you are attempting to create a balanced design, try holding your project up to a mirror. Does it still look pleasing to your eye? If not, it is probably not balanced.

Principle #4: Use of Graphics

Some type of graphic has a place on almost every menu. You can achieve wonderful results with large to small contrasts in graphics, as mentioned before. However, the possibilities don't stop there.

• Think about using small accents under your menu headings.
• Choose your graphics based on your restaurant type. Do the customers want cute clipart, elegant illustrations, photos of food, a simple background or an intricate border?
• Photo backgrounds with plenty of space for text can make for great menus, too, especially when combined with geometric boxes, circles, and shapes.
• Starburst graphics have been proven to draw attention. If there's something you really want your customers to take notice of, place it in a starburst. "New," "Chef's Choice," and "Spicy" graphics and may draw attention.
• Make sure your graphics don't make your menu hard to read. This is most easily tested by showing your design to other people and asking for their opinions.

With these simple principles and strategies, you can create a pleasing menu that your customers will find both useful and appetite-inducing.