Last updated on December 7th, 2021
Restaurants, pubs, and other such outlets are attractions for people to spend their time with family and friends. Here, having a unique menu design plays an important role in helping you attract and serve your audience in a better way.
One of the main component of restaurant business is its menu card. A menu card design is the first representation of the restaurant’s services and if your menu is well-designed it can form a good first impression on your customers.
With the help of a creative menu design, a restaurant or a pub owner can entice more customers.
But some careful considerations should be taken into account when creating menu design and menu descriptions. The design should be created with unique layouts and colors. Additionally, the design should comply to your restaurant theme as well.
Here Are Some Tips To Create A Unique Menu Card Design
01. Know Your Competition
Before designing your menu, make sure that you have a good insight about your rival restaurant or other similar businesses. You should compare their menu cards and find out what unique features they have.
The main purpose here is to create a menu that looks different than that of your competitors. Such a menu design will be the chief driving force behind the growth of your restaurant business.
But make sure that your menu card is a 100% original design. Do not try to imitate the card designs of your competitors. This will leave a bad taste in the mouth of your potential customers.
02. Put Your Logo Boldly At The Top
Your restaurant logo must appear right at the top of your menu card. It may appear on the middle or top left side ideally. A logo is a sign or symbol that acts as the visual representation of your business. So, make sure you don’t forget to include it in your menu card.
But evaluate your logo design for its uniqueness of the concept and use of colors, etc. elements. A professionally created logo speaks favorably about your restaurant’s business and services whereas a poorly designed logo can affect your business negatively.
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03. Ensure An Impressive Layout
After you know your competitors well, it is now time to create a better restaurant menu design for your venture by graphic design services. Remember that a menu design is not just about printing the prices and images of the dishes.
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The layout should be clearly telling the customers about the chief services of the restaurant, specialties and giving them a sneak-peek into the recipes in a tempting way. It can be a simple design which can be designed using a menu template but should work to draw the attention of diners.
04. Use Colors And Fonts Carefully
The success of your menu design depends on the clever use of colors and fonts, which are two main elements. Both these elements should reflect the main theme of your restaurant and pub business.
For example, a Mexican themed restaurant generally has vibrant colors such as purple, red and green. So, use colors that define your specific restaurant theme.
Similarly, fonts also reflect the type of service you provide in your restaurant. For example, a French bistro usually displays a classic script typeface. But a sports bar may have a font that reflects a casual environment. So, pick your colors and fonts with care.
If you run a certain theme restaurant, then use the colors that are already on your signage design. So, when people enter your restaurant and take a look at the menu, they can instantly relate with the theme.
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05. Divide Menu In Neat Sections
Another thing to note is that the food items should be presented in a clear, crisp, and friendly way in your menu card design. This means that the customer should immediately know where the appetizers section is and where is your soup & salad section on the menu card is located.
Similarly, the diner should be instantly able to pick up main course, beverages and desserts. If your menu design gives hard time to your customers then chances are they may not come to your restaurant again.
[Source: Designhill’s Gallery]
Make sure that all such sections are clearly identified. Use boxes, bold headings and borders to highlight the specialties of your restaurant services. You can ask your graphic designer to use other tricks such as putting a star against your special dishes that your chef recommends.
Avoid adding more than two columns to the menu design. By adding more columns chances are that your menu card will look like mini newspaper classifieds. Also, do not add too many background images as it will clutter the limited space and will make the card difficult to read.
06. Pay Attention To Descriptions
Write something that explains a dish. You can even elaborate when describing the chief features and taste of a particular delectable dish.
Give the ethnic names if a dish has it. Make the description enticing enough for the diners. For example, How about describing your Chicken Margarita as a Chicken topped with spicy tomatoes. That brings something exciting to the consumer’s mind.
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You can even give some details of the origin of a dish and local history. But do not make description too lengthy. Just aim at raising the curiosity of your customers about a dish.
07. Make Chief Dishes And Services Visible
Your menu design should highlight your chief dishes and services in a special way. This is your own way to promote your best selling dishes. The best way to compel people to visit your restaurant again is to promote the popular offerings in your restaurant.
[Source: Designhill’s Gallery]
Put your best and popular items in boxes in your menu card. Each category of your menu should have some items boxed so that customers can notice them instantly. So, that your best selling dishes is right away visible.
08. Make Good Use Of Icons And Symbols
Many studies have shown that the use of icons and symbols has been a good help to restaurant owners in drawing the customers’ attention. Moreover, their clever use can also enhance the aesthetic value of a menu card.
For example, you can rate a menu item as per its quality and specialty using a star sign. If you use some symbol to let the diners know if the dish is a vegetarian or vegan items, that will also be helpful to them. This is a creative and imaginative way to design a menu card.
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However, using the heart icon. People usually take such as dish with a heart icon as tasteless and bland. Your intention may be to show it as a healthy dish but people can wrongly take it as a boring dish in terms of taste.
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09. Keep A Low Profile In Prices
Avoid highlighting your dish prices. The purpose of a menu design should be to highlight what you are offering and not at what price.
[Source: Designhill’s Gallery]
Do not write that the dishes are cheaper. It would be good if you decrease the font of your dish prices. The text related prices should be either small than the description or equal to it.
10. Use Quality Images
Your menu card should have only quality images. Diners will get an impression of your dishes from its images. Hire a professional photographer and get exclusive photos of your special dish offerings taken. Do not download such images from online sites. Such cliched images make a bad impression about your restaurant business.
[Source: Designhill’s Gallery]
Make sure that the menu has a mix of images. Keep you attractive dish image larger than the rest of them. You can neatly pack those images in boxes to showcase your taste for aesthetics. Also, every dish should have its image along with description.
11. Break Monotony
Do not make your menu design look monotonous. This means that the diner will be bored looking at the card if all things are arranged in the same way. For example, if you draw three simple columns, that will not be something attractive to the eyes.
Instead, break the columns in half or at other distances. Give some boxes in the design. Create some animation figures. Use different colors and font sizes and so on.
[Source: Designhill’s Gallery]
These crucial tips will surely help you in creating an impressive menu card design. If you are worried about expensive fees of graphic designers, Designhill is the right crowdsourcing platform to help you.
You should launch a menu design contest on this marketplace to get dozens of unique design concepts from a community of graphic designers. Your cost of getting a winning design is affordable at this site.
Conclusion
Menu cards should make a lasting impression on the diners in your restaurant. The card design must have a neat layout, clear use of theme based, if any, colors, typefaces and other elements. The design should be unique and free of cliched designs. Detailed & exciting description of dishes coupled with irresistible images also.