The Hindu Business Line : Designing a restaurant menu, differently

Recently, I happened to see a nicely designed menu of a restaurant. I was surprised to find that the prices were printed closer to the food description and not on the far right column of the page. It struck me that the design was engineered for a reason — to induce us to spend more. How can that be?

Suppose you and your friends visit a pricey restaurant. Now, typical menu will have the food description with the prices printed on the right side column. If you behave like a typical guest, your eyes will be locked on the prices, as they are neatly arranged in a column. You may settle for a meal that is not too expensive — something which is not the restaurant’s specialty.

Making comparison difficult

But what if the restaurant designs the menu in such a way as to make it difficult for you to read the prices first? The restaurant can accomplish this objective with a menu that has prices tucked closer to the food description.

This design will make it difficult for you to compare the prices and settle for the cheap dish. Importantly, the design will force you to read the food description.

Remember, the menu is a useful piece of real estate that the restaurant owns; for the design is supposed to induce the customer to spend more. That is why food description and their placement are important.

Arousing your appetite

Take food description. Using words such as spicy will enable you to visualise and perceive the taste. And that would whet your appetite to order the dish — even if it is expensive.

This is one of the reasons why restaurants print their most profitable dishes on the top right-hand corner; for research has shown that this area easily catches the reader’s eye. It logically follows that the less profitable ones are pushed to the back. The menu I saw fit the bill.

So the next time you walk into classy restaurant, savour the description and perceive the taste — from the menu. Then, order the food!

(The author is an investment strategist. blfeedback@thehindu.co.in)

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