Mercadotecnia, Publicidad y Diseño: 40 Commendable Food Menu Designs

martes, 4 de diciembre de 2012

40 Commendable Food Menu Designs

Graphic Design, Inspiration, Print Media

What is the first thing you come across after you enter any restaurant? A menu. It is the first item that the waiter hands you, without a question, and one of the first impressions that you get of any restaurant – after their interior and the environment they have created. Menus often communicate with the customers non-verbally, they send off messages as to how high your brand is and how quality is of a major concern to your restaurant. A branded restaurant should be accompanied with a well-looking and eye-appealing menu in order to really give a clear message to the customer about the value of the brand. For instance, elegant restaurants with a sophisticated environment often have a menu that gives the same vibe; such menus often have a solid background color (preferably white) and a very elegant font is used. Fewer details are provided and fewer graphic are used.

On the contrary, a funky restaurant with a laid-back environment would have a very artistic menu to offer. Such menus would often use more vibrant colors, fonts that are eye-catching and a lot of images. However, a menu shouldn’t be too full of images or too empty of them at the same time – there should be a balance so that the reader finds clarity in the menu. A perfect menu screams out clarity; the layout and the content are perfect and so are the font and the color that’s been used. Fonts should be readable, yes they should match the impression of the brand, but it should not put a strain on the reader’s eyes as this would only infuriate the customer. Content may be highlighted so that you can emphasize on what the restaurant’s most special or famous dish is.

Placing the food items in a proper manner is also essential – appetizer, entree, dessert, beverages. However, where should a restaurant place its star dish in the menu? In the very beginning? Definitely not. When a customer is handed a tri-fold menu, he / she scrolls down the list in order to have all their options well read. A star dish should be placed somewhere further below the middle of the list so that it remains as one of the last dishes in the reader’s mind and also so it isn’t buried under the entire list of dishes.
Moreover, if a restaurant chooses on placing little images of the final dish next to its name it proves to be even more helpful for the customer; also brief descriptions of what ingredients are used in a dish should be mentioned so that if any customer is allergic to any of the items he / she may be aware. Pricing is also a main concern when designing a menu; where should the most expensive dishes be? And where should the cheaper ones be? It all comes down to where the dish is placed. Since price is even an issue for the customers the hotel admin could use psychological pricing; for example: $24.99 and $9.99 instead of $25 and $ 10.

For instance, coffee shops have menus of brown color or shades of the same hue in order to bring the atmosphere of the café and set it in the menu. Whereas, a Japanese or Chinese restaurant would make a more colorful menu that uses images that reflect their culture and their food – since their dishes include various colors. This blog will be showing you some of the most amazing menu designs for your use.