Smashburger is a fast-casual restaurant chain that specializes in made-to-order burgers smashed on the grill to sear in the juices, creating a flavorful crust. The menu also features chicken sandwiches, sides like fries and onion rings, salads, and hand-spun shakes, all designed to deliver high-quality, delicious food in a modern, welcoming atmosphere. The following digital menu board scorecard is based on their location in Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC.

Creative Design (Score: 7/10)

Branding – The digital menu boards for Smashburger are nicely executed from a brand point of view. The designs incorporate large, beautiful photographs of the four primary burgers including specialty burgers. The food photography is attractive and appetizing, showcasing items like the signature burgers and crispy chicken in a way that entices the viewer. The one missed opportunity is the large photograph of tater tots with much smaller images, and less appetizing images of the individual sides.

Visual Appeal – The color scheme of dark blue background with yellow and white text make it a little challenging to read the text (particularly the smaller descriptions). The photography is heavily weighted to the left of the four panels and the four large burger images compete for prominence in the designs.

Typography – The typefaces are sans serif which makes them mostly readable. However, the smaller description text and the white on blue contrast make some of the text hard to read. The white text with drop shadows over the photographic content makes it a little challenging to read and the names of the burgers don’t stand out as much as they could. A very small item on the typography is the note on when Breakfast is served. The “10 AM” is not placed properly on the layout and almost touches the Breakfast header.  This is an easy fix.

Organization (Score: 7/10)

Information Layout – The digital menu boards are divided into sections like Signature Burgers, Specialty Smash, Sides, Drinks, etc., which helps categorize the options. However, the placement of these sections doesn’t create a clear path for the eye to follow. Upsells such as, Sides and Premium Add-Ons are not as prominent or connected to the entrees in a way that would promote bundling.

Clarity – Other than the readability issues outlined above, the menus are clear and the offering is easy to understand.

Physical Setup (Score 7/10)

Displays – The digital screens appear to be high-quality displays with good resolution and small bezels and are placed at a nice height for visibility during the ordering process. It does appear that each of the displays are set to a different angle on their tilting wall mounts. This gives the digital menu boards a less polished look. There are no visible wires and there are no lights creating glare on the displays which is always nice to see with these implementations. The lack of visible cables, wires, or other hardware components maintains a polished appearance.

Overall this implementation is attractive but it appears as though there are some missed opportunities to maximize the effectiveness of the digital menu boards. With a few small tweaks these menu boards can be greatly improved.