menu design

What is Menu Design, Why is Good Menu Design Important, How to Design a Menu, Sections to Include, Other Elements to Consider, Best Design Programs, Videos

what is menu design?

A menu design is the layout you use to create your restaurant’s menu. Elements like food item descriptions, pictures, fonts and color schemes all make up your overall menu design. An effective menu design contains plenty of white space, brief and informative descriptions and appropriate meal pricing. Your menu must be attractive and easy to read.

why is a good menu design important?

Your restaurant’s menu is a first impression of your business. Easily scanning your menu and locating appetizing items contributes to a relaxed dining experience. If your meals contain clear, brief and appetizing descriptions, customers will be eager to continuously return to your restaurant to taste more of your unique and enticing dishes. This results in higher customer volume and an increase in profits.

how to design a menu

Keep your goals in mind

One of the first things to do when designing your menu is to think about your goals. What do you plan to accomplish with your menu? Do you want customers to spend more on your menu? Do you want to stand out from the competition? Whatever your goals, it's important to keep them in mind when designing your menu.

stand out from the competition

To achieve an efficient menu design, make sure you're paying attention to what your competitors are doing. Look at their websites, menus, and marketing efforts to see what they're doing right and how you can apply the same techniques with your own unique twist.

Next, consider your competition in terms of location. How can you make your menu different from other restaurants in the area? What menu items do you have in common? How does pricing compare? Does your menu offer more variety than other menus? Paying attention to these factors will give you a good starting point when designing your menu.

price your menu wisely

Determining the right prices will help diners see how your items match up value-wise against your competition. Follow these pricing guidelines:

Keep everyday items around $1 more or less than your competition

Price items unique to your restaurant a bit higher than other items.

Don't use dollar signs. According to one source, people spend more money as a result.

Spell out the price. (Ex: ten dollars instead of 10)

Throw expensive dishes on the menu. This makes other menu items look like a deal.

consider the visual appeal

Your menu is one of the first thing customers see when they walk into your restaurant, so it should be visually pleasing. Color, font, and organization are key visual components.

Here are some guidelines when thinking about color:

Green: fresh food, just picked from the garden

Orange: stimulates the appetite

Yellow: promotes happiness

Red: grabs attention

Effective typography communicates your restaurant's brand. Choose a font that appeals to you, but make sure it's legible. You could also use more than one typeface to distinguish the names and descriptions of menu items, which can help to guide customers through the menu.

sections of a menu to include

Menus are easier to read when items are sorted into logical categories that are simple to locate. Sections to include on your menu are:

Desserts

Place these either in their own section or on a separate menu to leave on the table for guests to peruse and think about throughout their meal. They may feel enticed to order a dessert item after their entree.

Vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free

Sort all of these items into one section or into separate sections if you have enough room. This shows customers your willingness to accommodate their dietary needs.

Entrees

Split your entree dishes into beef, poultry and fish sections if you have several meat options available. Another way to break down entree sections is to sort them by food genre, like Italian or Mexican foods if you offer a wide variety.

Appetizers

List your starters or appetizers at the beginning of your menu, since they’re usually the first food items customers order.

Beverages

Mention beverages in their own section or their own menu if your restaurant has a bartender or several specialty drinks available.

Specials or seasonal items

Make your specials stand out by placing them in their own section on your menu. This is a great spot to feature items that are limited time only or for a seasonal period.

Other elements to consider

Here are some common elements to consider when designing your menu:

The layout and style of your menu should best represent your restaurant’s brand and theme. Common menu styles to consider include:

MODERN

These are great styles for restaurants that have a contemporary concept and look. Most modern-style menus match the restaurant’s sleek and elegant feel, with unique and custom images and designs to complement the trendy fonts within the menu.

Family-friendly

For restaurants that cater to families, make your menus vibrant and bright to capture youngster’s interests. Include pictures of food for kids to point at when picking what they want to eat.

UPSCALE

When using this menu style, make the design match your restaurant’s ambiance as an upscale eatery by providing little to no images, limited menu items and detailed descriptions of your unique menu items.

What is the best design program to use when creating a menu?

The best design program software for your business depends on your budget and desired layout. Great menu design tools and prices to consider include:

Canva: Free or $9.95 a month for the pro version

DesignBold: Free or $7.99 a month for the pro version

iMenuPro: $15 a month

videos on menu design

The List: The New Rules of Menu Design

We've all heard the old yarn about menus. They're designed by marketing psychologists to trick you into spending more money! Sean Willard's a menu engineer at Menu Engineers, and he says sneaky menus died off with five-star user ratings.

Using psychology in food menu design to influence decisions | Madhu Menon | TEDxSIULavale

Every menu is a carefully constructed to persuade you into making certain decisions, predominantly ones that will ultimately make you spend more MONEY. The psychology behind menu engineering is backed by science and countless hours of research, and covers aspects such as positioning, color theory, use of buzz words, controlled costing and more.

How to design a menu for your restaurant – Use free templates or start from scratch

Canva’s restaurant menu maker helps you transform a handful of food photos and some saucy sentences into a complete, professional restaurant menu in just a few minutes. Perfect your design by starting with a template, or whip something up from scratch using an array of stunning free graphics. With Canva, you can even upload your own logo and photos for a truly personalized menu.

in conclusion

Organization matters as well. Be sure to divide your menu into logical sections based on category. Also, arrange items sequentially. Appetizers should go first, while desserts should be last. For greater readability, you can also use boxes to showcase a group of menu items.

By now, you've learned that restaurant menu design isn't as simple as listing your items and scribbling a price. It's a brainstorming process.

A good restaurant menu design is key to any restaurant’s marketing plan. When you design a menu it should express your eatery’s personality, focuses your overall operations, promotes profitability, establishes your budget, and keeps your brand fresh in your customer’s mind.

If your menu creates problems for your clients, they will become apprehensive and less likely to return. Common mistakes include when you design a menu are: Menu print that is too small to read easily; menus that are too big to handle easily; menus that lack English translations for non-English words or phrases; menus that look antiquated in presentation; menus without daily or weekly special insets; entrees that don’t look like their photos; generic clip art; and misalignment of brand and menu.

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