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Design is an important part of any business, even though you might not necessarily realise it. When it comes to a food-related business, the focus is always going to be on the food itself. However, the menus and boards that are selling that food do need to look good too.

Having worked in the pub and restaurant industry for many years, I have a lot of pet hates when it comes to menu design. Script fonts that look pretty but are actually pretty difficult to read. Overly simplistic menu descriptions which mean I end up with something I don’t like because it wasn’t mentioned (I’m talking main ingredients here, not every single thing in the dish).

How To Use Design In Your Food Business

Website design can be an issue for small businesses too. In fact, my favourite local restaurant has the most awful website -it’s hard to navigate, the images are blurry and there is an advert for the ‘web designers’ who built it which makes me wonder why anyone would use them!

The thing is, there are lots of amazing tools online that can make getting the design side of things exactly right for your food business very easy. So whether you’re a pub restaurant or coffee shop selling the best cappuccinos or someone selling homemade cakes and bakes it’s easy to have all of your business looking snazzy in no time.

Design Basics

There are few rules I always stick to when designing things, whether that was when I worked as a chef and designed the Christmas menu or now when I’m designing Pinterest images for one of my blogs.

• Pick two or three colours that work well together and stick to them.
• Avoid scripted or heavy fonts – if you’re unsure of which fonts work together you could try using a font matcher.
• Logos should be clear and make it easy to see what you’re business is about.
• Double-check spelling and details such as email address and phone number
• Make sure to use the same branding across everything from business cards, to flyers to your website and any apparel or custom patches you might choose to order.
• Websites should be easy to navigate with clear contact details, booking system and menu, even if it’s only a sample menu. WordPress actually has lots of easy to use templates that can help you create a sleek look without the need of web designer.
• Design bundles actually offer menu templates which you can download, making the do it yourself option easier than ever before.
• Don’t forget about digital marketing – keep the branding consistent on your social pages too.

Branching Out

It’s not unusual for people these days to have more than one business on the go. Especially for those who are self-employed having more than one source of income is a good way to make ends meet on the less abundant months. If you’ve enjoyed designing for your own, or someone else’s food business it could be time to branch out as many skills from the food industry could be used elsewhere.

If you feel you have a flair for design, you could take this to the next level by offering personalised mugs, for example, to go along with your coffee business. All you need are some good coffee related slogans such as ‘Coffee, for when your brain needs a hug’ and a mug mockup to display your design on.

Of course, this could be applied to any skills you have, such as cute doodles to go on t-shirts or even designing jewellery or funny cards.

And it doesn’t always have to be a physical product either, for example, blogging is an option (I love to write about food personally) so if you already have a good knowledge of food or know all the best places to eat out locally, why not give starting a food blog a try.

If writing isn’t your thing then there is food photography too – especially if you’re a chef who can design a stunning plate of food and the take amazing photographs – these are a skill that is transferable and would be highly sought after.

Design Throughout the Year

There will, of course, be times of the year when your food business needs extra flyers or menus producing. Some of the biggest annual events include

• Valentines Day
• Mothering Sunday
• Easter Weekend
• May Bank Holidays
• Fathers Day
• Halloween
• Bonfire Night
• Christmas

If you’re using posters or flyers to advertise special events you’ll want them to be eye-catching to encourage people to attend. Design bundles actually have ready-made posters which can be downloaded and edited. Cheaper than hiring someone to do it for you but less time faffing about with a design you’re not 100% sure about. Win-win!