Rules of Unique Restaurant Menu Composition

Few years ago creating a decent restaurant menu design was a baffling task. However, things have changed. Now there are lots of easy-to-use online menu makers like IMenuPro or Waitron.Menu, free templates and tutorials that allow you to get things done really easy and quickly.

In this article, we’ll talk about 4 simple basic design rules that will help you to create a really unique and “clinging” design.

Highlighting key objects

If you want to create a clear and coherent menu design, it is important to highlight a particular element. How to choose focus? Keep in mind that the main purpose of design is communication with the one who it is created for.

Create focus on the element that discloses the idea or concept of your restaurant (logo, name, corporate colors). This technique is called visual hierarchy.

The Rule of Thirds

Creating just a pretty menu isn’t enough. You can make a balanced and easy-to-perceive design by building a good composition. The Rule of Thirds is a simple principle that will help you with this. It states that, while creating any design, it’s better to use grid 3×3 breaking the design into three equal horizontal and vertical sections.

First of all, this sheds light on a symmetry of your menu design and on the elements arrangement. Secondly, intersection lines are perfect for placing major elements. The closer the object is to intersection, the more it draws attention.

Contrast effect

If you’ve ever created menu design yourself, then for sure you had to wonder how to make it authentic and eye-catching. To do so it is not necessary to apply complex color combinations or elements.

Just the right contrast is enough. It is not only a matter of color. The contrast is a variation between two elements. We recommend experimenting with such contrasts: dark/light, thick/thin, big/small.

Repetition of design elements

Sometimes having a desire to create a totally unique design, you can create many different elements that don’t match. This puts you at risk of creating an inharmonious image. We know a solution — don’t be afraid to duplicate some elements.

First of all, that’s a way of creating your own style. Secondly, it is a perfect method of creating a logically connected design of several pages.

It should be realized that there is no unified universal rule of good design. Because the creation of the unique menu design is a difficult and long-lasting process. But even a beginner will be able to deal with this task.

The only thing you have to do is to experiment with shapes, elements and apply above mentioned rules only where appropriate.