It's never just a menu
Every now and then I find myself searching through old project folders, usually because I'm looking for a logo or trying to find a file for a particular client. It's a dangerous habit because I almost always end up disappearing down memory lane for half an hour.
That happened again this week.
What started as a search for one old menu turned into a session looking through years of work we'd produced for pubs, cafés, restaurants and bars. There were Christmas menus from the Cloisters Café at Chichester Cathedral from around 2010, brewery pump clips for The Gribble Inn, business cards for catering companies, takeaway menus, wine lists, burger menus, table talkers and promotional posters. Some of the designs looked surprisingly contemporary, while others definitely reflected the style of their time. Looking through them all reminded me of something I'd never really stopped to think about before.
Print has always been one of the hardest-working members of any hospitality business.
Thinking back, nobody ever really came to us because they just needed "a menu". A menu was simply the visible sign that something was happening within the business. Perhaps the chef had refreshed the dishes for the summer, maybe a new drinks range had arrived, Christmas bookings were opening or Sunday lunches were proving so popular they deserved their own promotion. The print wasn't driving those decisions, it was supporting them, quietly helping each new idea find its way in front of customers.
One client in particular sticks in my mind. We first worked together when he managed the Cloisters Café inside Chichester Cathedral. Over the years we produced menus and promotional material as the seasons came and went. Eventually he left to start his own outside catering business and asked us to come with him. Later he took on a city-based pub. Then another hospitality venue on the Isle of Wight. The names above the door changed, the branding evolved and the audiences were different, but the relationship continued because by then we understood his business and his goals as well as the artwork.
Looking back now, I realise that story has repeated itself many times over the years.
Quietly doing its job
Hospitality moves at an incredible pace. Prices change, suppliers come and go, new dishes appear, events are planned months in advance and Christmas seems to arrive earlier every year. Amidst all that activity, the printed material quietly gets on with its job. A customer sits down and studies a menu before speaking to a member of staff. A drinks list encourages them to try something different. A table talker reminds them about an upcoming event. A poster in the window persuades someone walking past to step inside.
They don't compete with the experience. They become part of it. That's why, if they're doing their job well, most people barely notice them. They simply feel like they belong.
That's probably why I still enjoy working with hospitality businesses after all these years. Every menu, every poster and every drinks list represents another small chapter in a business that's constantly evolving. Our role isn't simply to make those pieces look attractive; it's to help them communicate clearly, reflect the personality of the business and continue working long after they've been delivered.
Looking back through those old projects reminded me that while design trends have changed enormously over the years, one thing hasn't. Good design and print has never been about ink on paper. It's about quietly representing a business every day, helping customers make decisions and supporting the people behind the scenes who are working so hard to create a great experience.
Perhaps that's why the best printed pieces are also the strongest members of the team. They quietly represent the business from the moment the first customer walks through the door until the last one leaves. Most people will never remember the menu they held in their hands, but they'll remember how the place made them feel.
