The Great Debate Over Menu Type

Restaurant-goers are more likely to assume a dish is complex and skillfully prepared if the menu is set in a "fancy" typeface, according to a recent study described in the New York Times. Sadly, the study's researchers used Mistral as an example of fancy type.

Poor font choices aside, experts (thankfully) seem to understand the benefits of legible menus, as well as how best to produce them:

"Allen [CEO of Quantified Marketing Group] recommends using sans-serif fonts and few capital letters. He instructs managers to draw diners' eyes to the most profitable items on a three-panel menu by positioning those golden dishes in three key places: the center of the middle page and the top-right and top-left corners, which he calls the sweet spots. In addition to avoiding bad translations, Allen says chefs should use simple language when possible."

Of course, typeface is a fundamental piece of a restaurant's visual identity. As the study shows, it communicates specific characteristics about a restaurant's personality and food. But you don't need to rely on elaborate fonts for the sake of using elaborate fonts. Professional designers understand how to specify and use typefaces with character (pardon the pun) to influence customer perception and behavior, without sacrificing legibility.

If anything, the study makes a good case for leaving typography in the hands of the professionals - otherwise, you end up thinking Mistral is the answer to slow sales.