Caribbean Cocktail Bar Menu Project Overview

Using Existing Branding

The colours of blue and yellow are the national colours of Barbados, a key rum producing nation in the Caribbean. The colours are associated with the tropics and add an exotic, vibrant feel to the design. The colours of the menu columns were deliberately chosen to mimic the the national flag of Barbados – a subtle hint for relevant customers which indicates authenticity and care for the small details.

Menu Colour Palette

The typeface that was chosen is Kalam because it is playful and inviting and relates well to the cocktail bar’s quirky appeal. Montserrat is the chosen body font and it is easy to read and makes it easy for customers to read larger blocks of text on the menu. Kalam was useful for content that grab the user’s attention such as names of product categories, whereas Montserrat was more suitable for product descriptions and information blocks.

Paper Sketch and Wireframe Design

The design of the menu began with basic sketches on an A4 sheet of paper. Using this method allowed the main content to be structured and tested. There is limited space on the physical menu compared to the website, so having a tangible product was useful to help prioritise content.

The content in each column was structured so the menu opens with the spine on the left side like a regular book or magazine. The beers and cider page was folded inside the menu so the customer can see this page on the way to opening the inside of the menu. This way, the secondary drinks are not missed on the back of the menu.

Initial Balsamiq Wireframe

The initial basic wireframes of the menu were created using Balsamiq Mockups to outline the basic structure of the content on each column within each page. The wireframes builds on the paper sketches by adding real text content such as product names, descriptions and prices. The wireframes benefit from being a digital design and enable consistent typography, font sizes and padding to be applied to the design.

Custom Iconography

In preparation for the creation of the high-fidelity mockup version of the menu, some custom icons were required for specific category sections on the menu. The icons were created using the pen tool of Figma to create the outline of the visual elements representing each category. The icons were coloured using a grey shade found on the main website. The style of icon created shows the outline and the shape of the drinks on offer. However, it is not too detailed because it should not distract from the main product text on the menu.

Custom Icons for Menu Categories

It was decided that the cocktails and the wine sections required one icon each. The wine section required an icon because a limited amount of wine would be put on the menu due to seasonality. Therefore, a graphical element provides more substance and would give balance to a section that may have otherwise felt empty. Similarly, the cocktails section has a limited sample of popular cocktails, however, a customer is free to request a cocktail not on the menu. The level of detail in the icon gives the customer some inspiration about the type of cocktail they could have, whilst keeping the final options varied.

Menu Design

The wireframes were enhanced into a high-fidelity mockup using Figma by adding colours, typefaces and imagery. Beyond the chosen colours and typefaces, the other main addition was the illustrations. Specifically, the illustration of the flying fish was used on the front of the menu as a friendly and welcoming introduction to the cocktail bar. The flying fish was created as it is the national animal of Barbados and forms part of the national dish.

Inside Menu Design – The Cou Cou Corner

With there being limited space, some decisions were made to maximise the space on the menu. The avoid repetition, the prices were shown for each section with a single price tag beside the heading. This way, the price for each product is clear but only having it once clears out white space on the menu.

Similarly, subcategories were created by adding a letter to the product description and creating a key at the top the section for each letter. Rather than repeating the subcategory for each product, it now only appears once at the top e.g. R – Rum, T – Tequila etc.

The tri-fold design allowed the usage of six columns, with two being be used for the front and the back of the menu. Of the remaining four columns, the content was prioritised by dedicating one column to cocktails as it is the main offering of a cocktail bar. Second, the adjacent page was assigned to spirits as it was considered that customers could create cocktails of their choice using the provided list of spirits.

Front Menu Design – The Cou Cou Corner

Some of the design elements from the website were added to the menu to provide visual consistency and create a cohesive experience for customers. First, the sun icons were added to anchor the corners of the blue columns and provide visual balance when the text content may be uneven. Second, the scaled effect is eye-catching and vibrant and helps continue the sea theme by visually resembling fish scales.

Finally, a QR code was added to the back of the menu to allow customers to be taken to the website. The customer can use the website to view the upcoming events and the full version of the menu. Connecting the website and menu in this way adds another link between the two parts of the business and gives the customer a cohesive experience.