· 5 min read
Café menu design: the counter card, the table card and the board
How a café should split the offer across a counter card, a table card and a wall board so the queue moves and the table still has something to read. · 5 min read
Pizzeria menu design: organising 30 pizzas so people still choose
How to lay out a pizzeria card with 25 to 40 pizzas so guests decide in under a minute: groups, names, prices, extras and a paper that survives tomato. · 5 min read
Bistro menu design: chalkboard spirit on printed card
How to keep the chalkboard energy of a bistro on a printed card: short lists, a formule block, one accent colour and paper that looks daily, not precious.
· 5 min read
Telling your story on the menu: the about paragraph guests actually read
How to write the about line on a restaurant menu: length, placement, what to leave out, and why a forty-word paragraph beats a founder memoir on the inside cover. · 5 min read
Scandinavian menu design: clarity, air and honest materials
What makes a menu read as Scandinavian: a strict grid, one sans serif, lots of air, muted colour, uncoated paper and no ornament, with sizes and margins. · 5 min read
Mediterranean menu design: blue, terracotta and sun-bleached white
How to design a Mediterranean menu that feels like a coastal kitchen rather than a travel brochure: a three-colour palette that prints, warm paper and tile-based ornament. · 5 min read
Japanese-inspired menu design: asymmetry, washi and space
Principles behind a Japanese-inspired menu that avoids pastiche: asymmetric grids, generous emptiness, textured paper, one vertical accent, a single red seal, quiet type. · 5 min read
Art deco menus: geometry, gold and restraint
How to design an art deco menu that looks like 1928 rather than a Gatsby party: typefaces, frames, metallic effects that survive CMYK, dark paper and the rules of proportion. · 5 min read
Vintage and retro menu design without the clichés
How to design a vintage or retro menu that feels found rather than faked: choosing one era, period-correct typefaces, paper and ink that age well, and the tropes to avoid. · 5 min read
Choosing restaurant brand colours that work on paper and on screen
A method for picking restaurant brand colours that print faithfully in CMYK, read on a phone and suit food: gamut traps, contrast, paper and a three-colour palette. · 5 min read
The menu as a marketing tool: what guests take home in their head
The printed menu is the only ad every guest reads for several minutes. How to use it to shape memory, drive return visits and word of mouth without turning it into a flyer. · 4 min read