Menu boards that sell

These rules come from the 2017 guide and still decide whether a board works. A board that can't be read from the queue doesn't sell.

• Every item name and header readable from at least 10 feet from the counter.
• Upper and lower case together. All caps reads as blocks rather than words.
• Strong contrast between text and background, to WCAG levels. Brand colours plus one accent colour.
• Photos and video take no more than about 65% of the board. Past that, the eye goes to the text first and the images lose their pull.
• Food before drinks: food on the left or first, beverages on the right or last.
• Don't repeat the station name on the board if the station sign above already says it. Use that space for menu items.

A board that is quick to read moves the line. Every board uses the same order and the same few signals, so a guest who has read one of our boards can read them all.

• Category header first, then item, price and calories in the same order on every board.
• Real food photography at a consistent angle and scale.
• One "Top Pick" or "Best Seller" badge per board to guide undecided guests.
• Dietary icons from the F24 Menu Icon Implementation Guidelines, never decorative ones. Allergens are shown as "Made Without" claims, not a "Contains" list.
• Calories and the daily-intake statement on every item where provincial rules require it.

Every horizontal board now reserves its right third for selling, not listing. We build it as a 1080 × 1920 vertical panel and scale it into the rightmost third of the 1920 × 1080 screen, so the same artwork also runs on a portrait screen with no rebuild.

We call it the upsell zone. It is there to raise the average check and grow the basket, so it rotates between combos, add-ons, size-ups, a hero product shot and the current LTO. It never repeats an item the menu already prices; its job is to add something to the order.

Each board marks one featured item. We pick it for margin, not popularity: bestsellers sell themselves, so the feature steers the undecided guest toward the item that earns the most.

• One featured item per board. Two features cancel each other out.
• Put it first in the right-hand column, next to the upsell zone, where the eye lands after the right third.
• Set the name in the accent colour and add the handwritten "featured item" callout. The description, calories and price keep the same style as every other item.
• Change the feature when costs change. If an item's margin drops, it loses the spot.

Menus rarely fill a grid exactly. A six-slot grid (two columns, three rows) with five items leaves a gap. We fill that slot with a widget: a combo, an add-on, a drink or a dietary swap, styled to sit inside the grid so guests read it as part of the menu.

• Match the slot's size and alignment so the grid stays intact.
• Outline or tint it in the accent colour so it reads as an offer, not an item.
• One action, one price: "Make it a combo + 4.00".

Portrait (1080 × 1920) boards follow the same logic. The top of the screen lists the menu. The bottom third rotates through an LTO, a drink add-on or a swap that keeps a guest who might walk away. Mercatino runs this across every category, with a "Top Pick" badge steering the first choice.

Motion catches the eye in a queue. We animate the panels that sell (the right third, the bottom panel, the combo widget) and keep the price grid still, so the menu stays easy to read while the offer moves.

• Animate one zone at a time. If the whole board moves, nothing stands out.
• Loop in 10 to 15 seconds so a guest sees the full cycle while waiting.
• Never animate prices or calories.

A price that doesn't match the till, or a sold-out item still on screen, costs guest trust and slows the line.

• Prices and sold-out items come from the POS where the system allows it, not from a designer's copy.
• Day-part the board: breakfast items leave the screen when breakfast ends.
• Schedule LTOs and promotions to start and stop on their own dates.
• Review the board on site before it goes live, then check sales after and adjust. A board is not a one-time install.

More of our stations now take orders through self-serve kiosks, from Algonquin's marketplace to Bubbz. The kiosk follows the same rules as the board, because a guest often reads the board in line and finishes the order on the screen.

• Same names, same order, same prices and calories as the board. A guest should never wonder whether the kiosk item is the board item.
• Real product photos, cut out cleanly from their backgrounds and true to what is served, at one angle and scale so the menu reads as a set.
• The idle screen does one job: one hero image and one clear "Tap to order". Proposed
• One upsell, at the moment it makes sense: the combo or drink prompt plays the part of the board's upsell zone, not a pop-up on every screen. Proposed
• Large, well-spaced buttons, with the main actions within easy reach for every guest, including from a wheelchair. Proposed
• Signage closes the loop: where a station is kiosk-only, the wobbler says so ("Pre-order, pre-pay station, please order through the kiosk").

We use AI to make food images look their best, but a guest who orders what they saw expects to get it. Wherever we can, we start from a real photo of the dish and use AI to enhance it. Every AI image gets a designer's check before it goes on a board: it has to look like the dish the kitchen serves, and nothing in it can look wrong.