Menu design psychology

Need to know

What you need to know

• The 'Golden Triangle' theory posits that customers' eyes move to the middle, top right, and top left of a menu first.
• Restaurants exploit this pattern by placing high-margin items in these key zones.
• Counter-evidence suggests other scanning patterns, like the Z-pattern (reading like a book), are also common.
• The effectiveness of a layout depends on menu format and cultural factors like reading direction.

Explanation

Menu design psychology

1. The 'Golden Triangle' theory posits that customers' eyes move to the middle, top right, and top left of a menu first.
2. Restaurants exploit this pattern by placing high-margin items in these key zones.
3. Counter-evidence suggests other scanning patterns, like the Z-pattern (reading like a book), are also common.
4. The effectiveness of a layout depends on menu format and cultural factors like reading direction.