Perfect Menu Designing Tips
The moment you enter a restaurant, the first thing served to you is a menu.
FINE DINE VS TAKE AWAY/ FAST FOOD MENU
A menu is the first impression of the kind of food you wish to expect from a place for example a high end fine-dine menu is very chic minimalistic, just highlighting the dishes you will also notice the prices are in the smallest font size and in a clear typeface; and on the contrary a fast food chain's menu will be highly pictorial with big chunky fonts and a very peppy c
Color selection.
FONTS AND TYPEFACE, typography of the menu!
Let us start with understanding what exactly is a typeface,
*the style and size of the printed letters used in a newspaper, book, document, etc.: large/small typeface. a different/wrong typeface. bold/italic/roman type. (Definition of “typeface” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)
on the other hand a font,
is a set of letters and symbols in a particular design and size
It is crucial to use the right typeface and font in your menu, things to keep in mind:
1. If you are physically printing the menu, use a minimum font size of 10, although a font size of 8 is sufficient to read, but let's keep it simple for people to read, as it is, the toughest job is to select what to eat!
2. Legibility - your typeface needs to be clean and legible ( well that is my personal preference ), apart from making the menu look neat, it is easier to comprehend and makes the process of ordering food quicker.
Eye Pattern, HOW DOES A HUMAN MIND RESPOND TO A MENU?
There are many researches that keep working on how a menu has to be made. The most common perception is that the top right corner is the most important part, where the most important, or the chef's special needs to be mentioned. For example a study here suggests otherwise from the standard norms of the menu reading pattern. https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/40297.php?from=203749
Well there are a lot of other factors that define the reading pattern of the user, like:
1. Composition - how the layout has been composed, is crucial to guide the eyeballs to find the right corner.
2. Lines - In design we incorporate a lot of lines and define a lot of patterns to guide the eye balls at the right place.
3. Color - Each color has an impactful presence...
we need to figure out what works best for us, as a brand and then jump into the rules and other aspects of menu design.
Chronology and Menu Sections
In reality design follows no rules, but there are a few standard habits as a user we follow. These user patterns are sometimes the best bet to make your design work.
the usual menu chronology:
> Soups & starters
> Snacks/ quick bites
> Main course
> Breads & accompaniments
> Desserts
It is a matter of choice if you would like to stick to the cliched, or if you are specialized/ known for a certain set of dishes or there is a certain section that is an obvious selection at your restaurant, you can just kick start there and keep elaborating your menu as per your priority.
Look & Feel
Your menu defines your audience, the visual appeal and aesthetics of your menu are vital to make the #foodies order the right dish.
