Everyone in the restaurant industry knows how much power a menu holds. As a restaurateur, you know that your menu is much more than a list of available food items. It is, in fact, one of your most important advertising tools. It is what helps communicate your identity as a restaurant to your customers. But it can only do that if it’s well designed.
A great menu design has the power to enhance an entire dining experience. It helps stimulate appetite and compels customers to make satisfying choices. It is crucial to ensure that your menu makes an outstanding first impression.
But how do you ensure your menu is designed well enough to make your guests feel like they chose the right place? A menu redesign can often be time consuming and heavy on your budget. And of course, there’s always the hassle of finding the right expertise.
Well, we’re here to tell you that menu redesign is much simpler than you think. With online design tools like PosterMyWall’s unique menu maker, you don’t need design expertise or a huge budget to create your own menu.
If you’re unsure of how to start, follow these simple tips to see how you can design a spectacular menu of your own and spice up your restaurant’s image.
With PosterMyWall’s menu maker, you’ll find a wide range of menu templates suited to every need. But you can’t just select the first thing you see. It is integral for you to go with an option that fits the image of your restaurant.
This means choosing a template that goes with your theme, color scheme, and general vibe. If you serve high quality Italian cuisine, you can’t go with a template that screams bright colors and loud fonts. Take your time to browse through, and pick a design that matches the setting of your restaurant.
For instance, if you’re a high end restaurant going for a more elegant vibe, try something like this bistro menu. Light, muted colors, a subtle design, and a tasteful cursive font mixed with serif fonts is the way to go.
Gone are the days when you had to print out a whole set of new menus for every small change. With PosterMyWall’s menu maker, you can now add your menu items in a database that can be edited and updated in minutes.
Click on the menu in the template you have chosen, and select Edit to add your own items. Here, you’ll be able to not only add all your menu items and store them in the database, but you also have the option to add icons to designate food items as new, low fat, spicy, and much more. You can add prices to all your items and just click save.
If you’re planning on introducing a seasonal menu for Christmas or the winter season, this is the perfect time to do it. With PosterMyWall you can easily create seasonal menus that you can swap in at no cost when the time is right.
You can easily go back and edit an option to add a spice level icon, change up the price, or insert a vegan option to appeal to more guests. This menu template shows how you can use icons to show guests that there’s something on the menu for everyone.
A menu is meant to be visually appealing. It is also meant to leave an amazing first impression on your customers and urge them to place an order. And the best way to make that happen is to make sure your menu design is vibrant enough to appeal to the eye.
Before you customize your menu design, take some time to figure out what theme you’re going for. If you’re a burger joint with an elaborate kids menu, go for bright colors like red and yellow, and pair them with fun icons and a large, visible font. On the other hand, if you’re a sleek cafe with a specified customer base, you might want to go with light, soothing shades and a sleek font.
Take a look at how this ice cream shop menu makes use of bright, fun colors and a bold, bubbly font to showcase their menu items. The vibrancy of this menu design makes you crave ice cream instantly and adds to the image of the shop as a fun dessert place.
If you have a lot of menu items you need to fit onto a single template, the most important thing is to avoid clutter. A good way to section menu items without taking away from the aesthetic appeal of the design is to make use of boxes.
Boxes are often used by restaurants to promote best selling dishes separately from the rest. If integrated into the design correctly, they can help draw attention to specific menu items and give your menu design a nice, organized feel.
An organized menu will prevent customers from scouring the card to find what they want. This menu template does a great job at separating its items into neat boxes that let you find your dish of choice in seconds.
A picture speaks a thousand words. And let’s face it, it’s much more enticing to look at delicious food than to read about it. Don’t be afraid to add a little spice to your menu design with images of your best looking food items to tempt your customers.
Make sure your pictures are tasteful and are not overcrowding your menu design. This menu effectively uses a couple of images in its design to make customers drool. Similarly, you need to find the right balance between too much and too little. Add a couple of small illustrations to make your design pop, or strategically place a single mouthwatering food dish at the top of your menu to draw attention.
Related Links
MenuMaker – Create your menus with MenuMaker, print them in PDF, publish them on Google Maps and your Google profile, on Facebook and on your website.
Menu Tools & Resources
