The restaurant world is extremely competitive and finding a way to differentiate yourself from your competition can be difficult. Creativity goes a long way and using that to make your restaurant stand out as unique is a necessity. A great looking menu is necessary in fueling people to get their appetite going and indulge to the max! Here are some tips for designing your menu:
Coloring
Use vibrant colors if it aligns with your brand! Obviously, your sophisticated Italian restaurant shouldn’t include a menu with neon green on it, but for some restaurants it should! Bright colors on the front of the menu immediately catch the eye of your customer. They're are also linked to customers ordering more food than they otherwise would have, eating slower during the meal (think more drink sales!), and putting your customers in a positive mood. Positive mood=good experience=retaining customers.
Pictures
Pictures on your menu aren’t always appropriate, but depending on the restaurant type, you should take into consideration that people are visually stimulated. If you’re going to include some pictures on your menu, make sure to use a professional photographer, and to include your most scrumptious looking food. Pictures are more often that not used on the menu cover and next to popular items on the menu.
Layout
The number of dishes on the menu and the look you’re going for should dictate menu size, and don't forget to make sure your font is readable! Fine dining restaurants typically stick with columns for an elegant appeal, but depending on the descriptions of your meals, you might want to avoid columns. Long descriptions don’t always look great squeezed into columns.
Menu design and layout seems like such a small thing in the grand scheme of your restaurant, but it can increase profits and add to your brand and the environment! If you’re opening a new restaurant, make sure to sit down and brainstorm just how you want your menu to look, and for current owners, think about ways you can improve your menu!
