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Sometimes Bigger Isn’t Better

In addition, oversized menus are difficult to maneuver in tight quarters. Guests have knocked over wine glasses with the menu and menus have been scorched by candles. Customers have commented that the menus were obstructing their view of their dining partner and were even too large to be placed on the table. The more extensive the listings of menu items, the larger the menu dimensions and the more space that is needed to contain the listings and descriptive copy.

If you have a three-panel menu with interchangeable pages, try swapping them at lunch and dinner for a month and check your menu sales mix for any changes. Odds are that whatever is in the center panel will sell more than if it were on the back cover. This is also a way to increase your check average at night by moving the lower-priced sandwiches and salads to the back cover where they are less likely to be noticed and therefore ordered.

Menu design psychology also uses several visual element techniques to increase the effectiveness of the menu as a marketing, communication and cost control tool. The first visual element is the font size and style. Words, numbers, or graphic symbols can be increased in size to attract the reader’s eye or decreased in size to de-emphasize attention to a particular item. It follows that selectively increasing the type size and style of some menu items is a technique that will draw the customer’s eye and therefore their attention. It is this attention that increases the odds that the customer will consider ordering that item more than if they had never noticed it at all.

Different styles of type fonts can be used as “eye magnets.” This technique is most effective when the entire menu is limited to three different font styles. When four or more different font styles are used, the drawing power of the font becomes diluted and the eye never rests in any one area. Again, the intent is to bring attention to some menu items or areas of the menu. Improper placement or use of these techniques can be counterproductive and take attention away from the menu sections or items the operator wishes to emphasize.

The second technique is accomplished by increasing the brightness or color (shading) of visual elements to attract attention and establish a menu grouping. In printing jargon, this is referred to as dot-matrix screening. The brightness of a color can be increased, such as changing from gray to black or from a light pink to a dark red through a screen of tiny dots placed in various densities that produces a specified percentage of color. The use of color in the font, graphics, and borders can also be used to attract attention. The change from a light type to a bold type can also increase awareness and can actually direct the eye along a prescribed path. Thus, color and brightness can be used along with font size and style to direct the reader to certain parts or sections of the menu.

Another way to direct a guest’s attention to a certain part or section of the printed menu can be accomplished by placing the elements in a confined area or space on the menu. The use of borders to “frame” a menu item or group of menu items is an example of this menu psychology technique. An example would be the appetizer section of a menu that is set off by a box border or graphic design. The grouping of all the appetizers within a designated area encourages reading them as a unit. Adding an extra line space (leading) between menu items and putting less space between the title or name of the menu item and its descriptive copy clearly conveys that the description is for the preceding item.



In much the same way that spacing tends to group visual information, the use of similar elements such as brightness, color, size, or shape encourages elements to be seen together. Thus, switching from regular to bold type, changing fonts, or introducing a different color of type signals to the reader that they are moving from one section to another, e.g., appetizers to salads.

While all these elements can be used to guide the customer’s eye around the menu to the items that provide the best overall return, the entire menu must remain uncluttered and easy to read. If for example, appetizers are contained within a rectangular border, do not use a circle or square around another appetizer and place it adjacent to the others. A different shape suggests a different menu category, e.g., side dishes or salads.

The menu design psychology techniques described in this article are useful tools to the graphic designer in preparing a menu. In the March 2005 issue, we will discuss how the menu paper, its weight, texture, finish and color contribute to the menu design, the average check and gross profit return.

For now, the key point is to put a great deal of energy and thought into the design and psychology of your menu. Your efforts and planning will be returned many times over.

 


Date: 2015-01-11; view: 806


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