 A restaurant's creative platform is more than just a logo; it
encompasses all design elements including typography, background style
and treatments. This creative platform needs to be applied to all
marketing collaterals throughout your restaurant, including in your
menu covers.
A well-designed menu cover is an important
contributor to your restaurant'sbranding efforts. It serves as a way to tie your
creative platform in with your menu offerings.
Every point of contact that guests have with your restaurant is
an opportunity for branding and your restaurant’s menu cover is one of
the first points of contact that they have with your brand.
Effective menu covers can create a first impression about the
restaurant and make an impact on guests before they even see what
dishes are on the menu. Your restaurant’s menu cover should entice
guests to see what’s inside.
What should be taken into account before designing my menu cover?
It usually helps to do a little research and investigate what your
competitors are doing with their menu covers. See what you like and
what you don’t like as you try to envision what your own restaurant
menu cover should look like.
What design elements should I use for my menu cover?
There are various design elements that can be applied to restaurant
menu covers. Elements such as shape, texture, color scheme and
typography should all be taken into account. When design elements are
applied correctly, your restaurant menu cover will support your brand
and be a cohesive part of your overall creative platform.
Your restaurant's menu cover should also be an expression of its
personality. Is your restaurant classy and sophisticated? A small,
plain text menu cover can be used to enhance a restaurant’s impression
of elegance or simplicity. Is your restaurant fun-loving and wild? A
thick, flashy, image-intensive menu cover can emphasize its festive
side. Once you determine your restaurant’s personality, you can easily
begin crafting the look of your menu cover to match that.
Your menu cover can also provide an indication of the menu
offerings that will be inside. You don’t necessarily need to put food
photography on the menu cover, but there are other indicators you can
use. For example, a salad bar restaurant may opt to use cool, relaxing
colors like shades of green, whereas a Mexican restaurant with plenty
of spicy food on the menu may use hot colors like red and orange on its
menu cover.
What are some tips for designing my restaurant menu cover?
Be sure that your restaurant menu cover doesn’t create any problems
for guests. Common menu cover mistakes include: print that is too small
to read easily; oversized cover that is too big to handle easily; an
antiquated in design; generic clip art; and misalignment of the brand
and menu cover.
The worst thing you could do is have absolutely nothing on your
menu cover. Remember that it serves as another opportunity for
branding your restaurant. Your menu cover should at least include your
restaurant’s name and logo. Anything additional that appears on the
menu cover needs to support the brand.
For example, Señor Frog’s
three-page menu cover is anything but simple, but every aspect of it
ties back into the restaurant’s personality and brand. From the first
page of the menu cover, guests view a giant lily pad with a Señor
Frog’s logo on it. A second layer is filled with blue gel to create the
look of water behind the lily pad. When guests open the menu a Señor
Frog’s mascot leaps out of the water at them, adding an element of
surprise that is characteristic of the restaurant’s fun personality.
How often should I update my restaurant’s menu cover design?
Periodic updates are necessary to keep your menu cover
fresh and relevant. You will want to update your cover if it begins to
appear outdated or if your restaurant undergoes a re-branding.
Your menu cover also needs to remain reflective of the food
inside. Updating the dishes offered on your menu can be a great way to
revitalize your brand and keep customers intrigued but if you make any
major changes to your menu offerings, you should change your menu cover
to match.
Some restaurants even change their menu selections seasonally.
In this case, you may want to consider having an adaptable menu design
that allows a new menu cover to be placed in with every season.
Keep in mind that a menu cover is just one aspect of your
restaurant’s creative platform. Your menu, napkins, to-go materials,
and signage materials should all have a cohesive design. All of your
restaurant materials should incorporate a consistent creative platform.
If your menu cover is cohesive with the rest of your
creative platform and is reflective of your restaurant’s personality
and brand, it will help you to deliver a dining experience that is
authentic and connected to who you say you are as a concept.
Want to see samples of our restaurant design work?
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