Sector Guides
What Should Be Included in a Restaurant, Cafe or Takeaway Design System?
Food and drink businesses have more design needs than most sectors. Here is a practical breakdown of what a design system for a cafe, restaurant or takeaway should cover.
Published 18 June 20266 min read
Menus — your most important print piece
For any food and drink business, the menu is the most important physical design asset. It communicates not just what you sell but how you want to be perceived. A well-designed menu — legible typography at appropriate sizes, clear section hierarchy, consistent formatting, print-ready production — reflects directly on the quality of the business. It also needs to be practical: durable materials for frequently handled items, logical layout for different service contexts (dine-in, takeaway, digital display) and straightforward to update when prices or items change.
Posters, offers and seasonal promotions
Hospitality businesses in Scotland run seasonal and event-specific promotions throughout the year: Burns Night, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, summer terrace season, festive dining and Hogmanay. Each occasion requires promotional materials — a window poster, a take-home flyer, social media graphics and sometimes digital screen content. A design system with pre-set templates for these formats, sized and set up correctly for print, makes seasonal promotions faster and cheaper to produce each time.
Digital screen and in-venue graphics
Digital display screens are now standard in many hospitality environments — behind bars, at till points, in waiting areas and on building facades. This content needs to be designed for viewing at distance, with large clear type and minimal detail. It is also frequently updated — weekly specials, promotional pricing, new drinks ranges, event announcements. A designer with experience in digital screen content understands the technical requirements: safe zones, aspect ratios, resolution and the different demands of ambient looping content versus promotional messaging.
Social media and online presence
Social media is a primary promotional channel for most Scottish food and drink businesses. Consistent, on-brand social media graphics for Instagram, Facebook and Google Business Profile require regular production. The most effective social content for food and drink businesses is not necessarily complex: high-quality food photography with clean branding applied consistently is more effective than over-designed templates. A monthly support arrangement for social graphics means the brand stays current throughout the year without requiring a separate brief and quote for every promotional post.
Work with Ross
Need help with design, websites or branding?
Ross Boag provides freelance graphic design, web design, brand design, print artwork, motion graphics and monthly creative support for businesses across Glasgow, Scotland and the UK.