| When you're a start-up business with a shoe-string | | | | Portable Document Format is widely used for all |
| budget, that photocopied sheet with a simple list of | | | | purposes throughout the printing industry. A |
| your dishes was enough to get by. But as your | | | | sophisticated PDF editor can design anything from a |
| business grows and becomes more successful, the | | | | business card to a newspaper. It uses rigid page |
| time will eventually come when somebody says, "Isn't it | | | | design and the editors for PDF have all of the |
| time we got a more professional-looking menu?" | | | | standard sizes selectable from the menu. It can handle |
| Yes, indeed, a full-featured, laminated menu just like the | | | | any font, image, and layout you throw at it, and is also |
| big restaurants use will definitely be necessary in most | | | | likely to be preferred by the print shop. The only |
| cases, if your restaurant is to be taken seriously. Even | | | | downside: PDF editors are expensive. Proprietary |
| if you don't go for the large, laminated book-style | | | | software patents have choked out most of the |
| folding menu, there are many alternative styles to | | | | competition, resulting in a highly monopolized industry. |
| choose from. | | | | SVG, XML - This is the second most commonly |
| To get one thing out of the way right away: you are | | | | encountered standard, and in fact much of the printing |
| probably better off getting a professional graphics | | | | industry is starting to use this format more widely. |
| designer for this number. Designing a menu has many | | | | They are each capable of the full set of PDF features, |
| skills in common with designing a website, and your | | | | and even add some new tricks that PDF can't do. |
| restaurant may not have somebody computer-savvy | | | | SVG stands for "scalable vector graphics" and XML is |
| enough to figure out how to do it, let alone the artistic | | | | the parent of HTML, being the original document |
| skill to make it look good! | | | | mark-up language. |
| But if you are up to the challenge, you will need: A | | | | SVG and XML combine in the same document. SVG |
| computer with design and editing software, a separate | | | | is not only a means of producing a document, but is a |
| graphics program, digital photos of servings, clip-art, and | | | | graphics language as well, so you can draw in it! |
| either a printer capable of high-resolution color printing | | | | Software for editing SVG and XML documents is |
| or a print shop which will publish your design. If you | | | | widely available as free and open source software, |
| hired a logo designer to brand-mark your signs and | | | | and in every case the free software is at least 99% |
| logos throughout your business, you'll want your | | | | as powerful as the expensive commercial version. The |
| company's logo on the menu as well. Oh, yes, and a | | | | only downside here is that it takes some extra learning |
| spell-checker! | | | | to use and understand SVG and XML. For example, |
| You'll need to design a color scheme, come up with a | | | | web browser have been able to render SVG and |
| style and theme, decide what sections the menu will | | | | XML elements for years, and yet you don't see much |
| include, and plan the layout. In addition to the main | | | | of it on the Internet, because there just aren't that |
| menu, you may want to create place-cards or table | | | | many people skilled enough to use it. You don't exactly |
| tents advertising seasonal specials and such. There | | | | have to have a computer science degree - but it won't |
| are paper and publications standards in the printing | | | | hurt! |
| industry, with standards designated as A4, A5, and so | | | | Whatever document format you use, you will have |
| on, so check with the printing company who will be | | | | many considerations in planning your layout. If you use |
| publishing your design. | | | | photographs, you will need to have a professional |
| This whole project doesn't need to cost you an arm | | | | photographer to snap photos of your food and provide |
| and a leg. Remember that simple, casual diners, coffee | | | | you with the images in digital format so you can include |
| shops, cafes, and other small establishments do very | | | | them in the menu. You will want to pick a font and |
| good business without making a big production out of | | | | layout consistent with your restaurant's atmosphere |
| their menu. Here are some simpler design formats | | | | and your business image. |
| which almost anyone can learn to use: | | | | You will want it to be attractive as possible, but not be |
| HTML - Not many people think of it, but this is a | | | | so "busy" that it is difficult to read. And using clip-art is |
| document standard, after all. HTML, being the language | | | | convenient and easy, but will make your design look |
| of the World Wide Web, is capable of handling text in | | | | like a tired cliche. Using custom-made graphics, on the |
| many sizes, layout formatting, and images. This is not | | | | other hand, will require digital graphics design skills that |
| recommended for fancy designs, but it can be enough | | | | aren't too common in the general public. You might also |
| to squeak by in some cases. Any web-page editing | | | | want to provide versions in different languages, and a |
| software can help you run up a layout. But there are | | | | braille menu for the visually impaired. |
| some problems with this format: HTML can't do | | | | It is quite challenging for someone with little design |
| custom fonts because they can't display in your web | | | | experience to undertake this task; there is much more |
| browser, it isn't good at keeping pages to a size | | | | to design that is left out of this article. Remember that |
| standard, and is not powerful enough to handle more | | | | menus define your restaurant; it is the first product that |
| demanding layouts. | | | | your guests will get to see. Making a good impression |
| PDF - This is the most commonly used standard. The | | | | here is important. |