There are many reasons to leave dollar or currency signs off your menu. Read to find out why and save your menu design from making these mistakes.
Menu Design: Don’t Use Dollar Signs on Your Menu
The Case Against Currency Signs
If it’s grammatically the proper way to write out a price, why should you leave dollar/currency signs off your menu? Doesn’t that make it incorrect? Well, the answer is found in human psychology.
When dollar/currency signs are used on the menu, they become the most repeated item on the menu. Patrons see the dollar or currency sign over and over again as they are browsing looking for their meal of choice.
The currency sign symbolizes money and therefore communicates the restaurant is just a business out to make a profit. That’s the exact opposite of what you want to convey. You want to communicate a sense of warmth, hospitality and welcome.
Without a currency sign, guests still understand that any numerals beside a menu item are the price. This makes for a more subtle communication of the price of the item and keeps the guest focused on the experience itself more than the cost of the experience.
Aaron Allen & Associates provides a holistic approach to the restaurant business. From conception to implementation, we pride ourselves on our commitment to the details, building concepts from the inside out. With experience in all 6 inhabited continents, in over 100 countries, and a client base who posts a combined $100 billion annually, we let our results speak for themselves.