Menu Design

I was hungry when I came up with this idea, but why not talk about restaurant menus?

Menus are tricky, because you have to juggle three different concerns. The first is aesthetic: the menu has to look good, and it has to fit the tone and decor of the restaurant as a whole. Second is informational: the menu has to effectively convey to the reader the nature and prices of the dishes; this is where readability comes in. The third concern is promotional: the menu must, in addition to simply giving information, actively sell the dishes, and should influence the reader to purchase the dishes that the restaurateur most wants to sell.

In recent decades, menu design and consultation has turned into an industry with its own tropes, methodologies and vocabulary. A "star" is an item that is both popular and carries a high profit margin. A "plowhorse" is an item that is popular, but carries a low profit. A "puzzle" is unpopular but has a high profit, whereas a "dog" is both unpopular and has a low profit, and should probably be struck from the menu immediately. In the words of author William Poundstone, "Consultants try to turn puzzles into stars, nudge customers away from plowhorses, and convince everyone that the prices on the menu are more reasonable than they look." (Source: Menu Mind Games)

Poundstone uncovers more trickery for Wired UK by analyzing the menu of The Wolseley in Mayfair. Even something as simple as placing a box around a particular dish has been statistically proven to increase sales.

Needless to say, there is no shortage of menu consultants eager to sell you their expertise. "Menu engineer" Gregg Rapp has been working with restaurants for over thirty years, and websites such as Must Have Menus offer templates for designers looking for easy, prefab solutions.

Have you ever paid attention to menu design? What design decisions will entice you towards a dish or dissuade you from it? Do you suppose menu psychology ever backfires if a customer is already savvy about its techniques? (The upper right-hand corner is the most visible spot, so a designer might place a "puzzle" there to boost its sales. Do you go along with that, or do you avoid the dish because you don't like falling for this sort of thing?) I'm curious to hear about your experiences with menus, whether as a designer, a restaurant employee, or a customer. Bon appétit!

Edit: I can't believe I forgot to include this link! Art of the Menu is a site that showcases some of the best designed menus worldwide, in the opinion of professional graphic designers. Check out a few over there and see if you think they work, both in terms of aesthetic design and as sales tools.