· 5 min read
Illustrations and icons on menus: dietary symbols, ornaments and character
When a drawing earns its place on a menu and when it clutters: dietary and allergen icons that work at 3 mm, ornaments that fit the style, and how to source line art. · 5 min read
Matching your menu to your interior: materials, colours and mood
How to make a printed menu feel like it belongs in your room: reading the interior for palette, choosing paper to match materials, avoiding the mismatches guests notice. · 4 min read
Restaurant brand identity basics: colours, type, tone and the menu as flagship
The four decisions that make up a restaurant brand identity, how to take them without an agency, and why the printed menu is the one object where all four must hold together. · 5 min read
Shooting dish photos with a phone: a menu-ready guide
How to photograph your dishes with a phone so they survive print: light, angle, background, camera settings, export size and the checks a prepress operator runs first. · 5 min read
Food photos on menus: when they help and when they cheapen
A designer's rules for using food photography on a printed menu: which venues benefit, how many photos to print, sizing, paper and the signs a photo is hurting your ticket. · 5 min read
Placing your restaurant logo on a menu: size, position and versions
Where to put a restaurant logo on a menu, how large it should be, which file version to use, and the mistakes that make a mark look like a stamp on 350 g board.
· 5 min read
Takeaway menu design: flyers, folds and the counter card
How to design a takeaway restaurant menu: flyer vs fold vs counter card, type that survives a bag, QR codes, and why the dining-room carte should not be shrunk to A6. · 4 min read
Menu inserts and daily specials: updating without reprinting
How to update a restaurant menu with inserts and daily specials: sizes that fit a bifold, dating, allergens, and when a slip is cleaner than a reprint. · 5 min read
Wine list formats: from the one-page house list to the book
How to choose a wine list format: one-page house list, bifold, booklet or binder, plus columns, vintages and a glass list that can change without a reprint. · 5 min read
Tasting menu cards: one column, one story
How to design a tasting menu card: one column, course names, wine pairings, allergens and a format that reads as a sequence rather than a price list. · 5 min read
Lunch menu vs dinner menu: different formats for different services
Why lunch and dinner should not share one restaurant menu format: size, paper, set menus and how to keep both services looking like the same room. · 5 min read