Menus and Fonts

Serif or san serif. Large size or small size. Make it readable. Duh. You’d think by now that overusing fonts went the way of the dinosaurs. And you’d be wrong.

I regularly see menus that use too many different fonts. Almost without fail, these menu have not been designed by a qualified graphic designer. More often than not, the menus are designed by menu owners or managers themselves, trying to cut corners by using simple text formatting software to put together their own menus.

Unless you are a former graphic designer who now owns or manages a restaurant, this is almost always a huge mistake, with font problems being the least of your worries. I always recommend that you consult with a professional, experienced graphic designer to create or update a restaurant menu.

For those of you who have no graphic design training, here are some quick tips about choosing menu fonts.

Be wary about using overly ornate fonts. They are more difficult to read no matter what the size.If you must use something decorative, make sure the font is large enough to allow for easy reading. If it has a lot of frilly loops and curls, use it sparingly, if at all.

Never use ornate fonts for text that wraps around on more than one line. It’s almost guarantees taht the words will be difficult to read and means your diners won’t focus on that text and move on to something else. If that font is used in conjunction with one of your higher profit items, a menu item you want to sell more of, you risk losing money.

Using too many fonts can be a distraction menu readers. Using different fonts adds interests, but keep it down to two or three different fonts, not including the use of bold or italics on the fonts styles you choose to use.

Be prepared to adjust the leading to add more white space between lines of text. Leading is the white space between each line of type. If the leading is too close, the text will be difficult to read. If it’s too large, then you waste valuable menu space that can result in you limiting your menu or unnecessarily increasing the page count.

Know the difference between serif and sans serif fonts and when to use them. A serif font, one with smaller lines used to finish off the main strokes of each letter or character, helps make words easier to read. That said, however, you’re not writing the great American novel. Because most of your text will be grouped as menu item descriptions with white space between each item, generally speaking, each description will be easier to read. This gives you a little more flexibility when choosing fonts. In many cases, using a sans serif font, one without the little lines at the ends of each character, can be a good option.

Be sensitive to font type size. If it’s too small, it will make your menu difficult to read. If it’s too large, however, it can increase you menu cost by forcing your menu text to bump over to more pages. A good rule of thumb is to use a 10 point font size or larger for the bulk of your menu text. Menu item names can be in a different font which may also be in a larger type size.

Finally, don’t forget my cardinal rule of thumb when designing a menu:  Just because you have a lot of fonts on your computer doesn’t mean you have to use them all, especially in a single project. Be judicious and keep your menu text readable.

If you follow these font guidelines, you’ll be off to a great start with your menu design!

For more information about menu design, visit www.premieremenus.com.