Menu Design
julianaduque (168 points) | Fri, 2007-11-16 16:53Hey everyone. I was wondering if you knew somewhere I could get some references on cool restaurant menu designs. My client want something original (surprise!) and he doesn't want his menu to look like just a list of food (even thought that's exactly what a menu is) If anyone know a site with cool design so I can get some ideas please let me know. Thanks!
Most restaurants have their menus posted online in PDF format, so If you search for "Fine DIning, Menu, PDF" or something similar, you should have quite a few at your disposal to choose from.
Having said that, I've done quite a few menus in the past and each is a custom job, build from scratch. If I had any advise to pass along concerning menus, it would be this:
1. Menus are a good source of repeat revenue. They always have to be updated, revised and kept current. You may want to suggest some kind of revision schedule and if possible, keep a small retainer just for this.
2. Do a good job on the menu, and you'll be called-in on other projects in the future. Special promotions, table tents, etc.
3. Use photos, but sparingly. Whatever dish they want to sell a million of, use a photo of that. Too many photos just clutter everything up. If taking them yourself, give yourself a food stylist crash course and learn the tricks of the trade. Example: Coffee with Dish Soap looks great.
Hope this helps.
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
Very good advice, thanks so much! :)
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Perfectly Lost Designs
Go to a few nice restaurants, their menus are usually up in the window by the front door. Great, and cheap, way to see what's out there so you can design something unique starting from an acceptable standard.
Great tips Terry!
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
watch "Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares"
Gordon Ramsey, one of the worlds most successfull restauranter and chef will tell you 100 times over "DON'T EVER USE PICTURES!!"
i've never been to a fine restaurant that has pictures on it's menu, and yes, i have the pleasure of saying i've been to quite a few. (living in Vegas has it's perks if you know how to get them for free!)
The most effective menu is a simple, clean, no BS menu. Get to the point, let the clients enjoy the restaurant, the food and the service, not the menu, they're not there to read some story board.
If you need to convince the restaurant owner, then have him watch the show, it's on Fox and the older british episodes are on BBC. (yes, i'm addicted to the show as well as Hell's Kitchen)
best of luck
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Architectural Technician - Multimedia Designer
www.ArchMedia.us
Food photos are notoriously bad. You end up having to put vaseline on everything to make it look 'real'. :) Even the ice cubes have to be fake plastic in order to see them.
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
I ate at his restaurant in New York - His menus were ultra booooring. I agree to not ever use pictures, but he should really get a designer for that thing. It's natural paper with just the menu listed out. Not a smidge of personality.
but, that being said - the food 100% made up for it. He could have written it with a sharpie and I wouldn't have cared. yummy
life is great; without it, you'd be dead.
i will agree to that, but you're graphically inclined to look at that and critique it. The john doe sitting next to you who number crunches all day long, or the jane doe on the other side of you eating at that restaurant who answers calls all day long, they don't know a thing about design. They also walked out of there never to think about the bland looking menu EVER again.
Is that reason to make a boring ass menu? HELL NO. I FULLY agree a menu can be designed to be nice and effective, I've done it myself in the past. The restaurant was a high end pizza place, they still use the menu...
The only thing you have to do, which isn't really in your control, is make sure the food and experience far outweighs the menu.
I doubt anyone needs a picture to know what a steak or chicken looks like :D
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Architectural Technician - Multimedia Designer
www.ArchMedia.us
I agree with the no pictures part. Specially because food pics have to be extremely professional for them to look appealing and therefore VERY expensive.
Right now I'm trying to talk my client into doing something simple and legible above all but he's not buying it, he insists in doing something DIFFERENT. I'll let you guys know how it works out (critique section perhaps) Thanks for all the advice!!!
Just don't let your client lose sight of the fact that menus are meant to Communicate. He doesn't want his wait staff spending all their time explaining to hungry customers how the menu works. Maybe you can wow him with something that is visually stunning/different (but still legible and easy to use). Good luck
www.alessandraandy.com
The more pics you have the closer to TGI Fridays you get. :)
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
TGIF sucks, then again, the menu might be part of the problem. lol.
Chili's, which menu is no better, is a far better bang for your buck! :D
Not to mention, chili's has Newcastle on tap! makes it ALL worth it!
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Architectural Technician - Multimedia Designer
www.ArchMedia.us
Agreed, TGIF is not exactly what I'm aiming for... sorry.
Don't be sorry. Didn't you catch my subtle sarcasm? :)
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
VERY subtle, you never really know, right?
You do when there's a smiley face after the comment. :)
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
Check out this book:
"1000 Restaurant Bar & Cafe Graphics"
http://www.amazon.com/000-Restaurant-Bar-Cafe-Graphics/dp/1592533329
It's loaded with signage and menus designs.
Good find!
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Powerpoint is not a design application
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The Salon Design Tech
Generally, I'd agree with the no pics in menus thing, but that all depends on the restaurant.
I design for a local hamburger chain and generally keep food pics off the menu. However we have tested this when the owner decided to start selling gourmet hot dogs.
We put "Chicago-Style Hot Dogs" on the menu with a nice descriptive and they just weren't moving. We did a low-budget experiment that included awesome pics in the menu, complementary graphics, table tents (with pics), a standee 22x28 sign (with pics) and did a soft-launch during lunch rush.
They sold out in less than an hour.
Again, this is a burger joint, but if it were an upscale, fine dining establishment, I'd leave it to the imagination. At least in the menu, I would.
Terrell Thornhill
e-zign Design Group
Try googling (under images) "restaurant menu" and start from there - not exactly some of the best menu images pop up, but if you're patient and dig long enough, you'll see some interesting layouts.
I'll refrain from giving advice on how to design it because I have no idea the type of restaurant you're designing for. A five-star upscale restaurant requires a MUCH different menu layout than a mom & pop family-oreinted restaurant, know what I mean?