In our series, “Digital Menu Board Makeovers: Insights & Best Practices,” we assess Umaka Ramen’s digital menu boards at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, IL. While the restaurant offers authentic Japanese ramen, there are opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of their digital menu displays.
Strengths
- Strategic Placement: The digital menu boards are positioned directly below a prominent branding sign, ensuring visibility for customers.
- Use of Imagery: Incorporating photographs of menu items provides visual appeal and aids customers in making informed choices.
- Bilingual Descriptions: Including Japanese alongside English descriptions adds authenticity and caters to a diverse clientele.
Areas for Improvement
- Brand Integration: The current menu design does not harmonize with the restaurant’s interior aesthetics, such as the green tile wall and orange hanging lamps. Aligning the menu design with the physical space can strengthen brand identity.
- Visual Consistency: Variations in photography style and angle create a disjointed appearance. Consistent, high-quality images can enhance the overall visual appeal.
- Typography and Readability: Light text on a dark background, coupled with glare on the displays, hampers readability. Additionally, small font sizes for descriptions and side items may be challenging for some customers to read.
- Menu Organization: The separation of numbered items from their descriptions requires customers to match numbers, complicating the ordering process. A more intuitive layout can improve the customer experience.
- Physical Setup: Glare on the screens, misaligned displays, and visible wires detract from the professional appearance. Addressing these issues can enhance the overall presentation.
How SmarterSign Can Help
- Design Consultation: SmarterSign offers expert guidance to create cohesive menu designs that reflect your brand and integrate seamlessly with your restaurant’s interior.
- High-Quality Visuals: Our platform supports the use of consistent, high-resolution images, ensuring a polished and appealing menu display.
- Enhanced Readability: We provide design solutions that improve text visibility, including optimal color contrasts and font sizes, to ensure all customers can easily read the menu.
- Intuitive Layouts: SmarterSign’s tools enable the creation of user-friendly menu layouts, simplifying the ordering process and enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Professional Installation: Our services include assistance with the physical setup of digital menu boards, ensuring proper alignment, minimizing glare, and concealing wires for a clean, professional look.
By addressing these areas, Umaka Ramen can enhance its digital menu boards, leading to improved customer engagement and satisfaction.
For personalized assistance in optimizing your digital menu boards, connect with a SmarterSign expert today.