my role

Led UX and concept design for on-site digital menu templates, collaborating with research partners and aligning with Popmenu’s modular design system.

impact

Provided scalable digital menu board concepts that reinforced brand consistency and offered clients flexible, easy-to-manage on-site displays, enhancing clarity and usability alongside web and print workflows.

challenge

Restaurants needed on-site digital menu boards that matched their brand identity, reflected real-time menu updates, and worked seamlessly with existing Popmenu tools. Many existing solutions were rigid or disconnected from web and print workflows, creating extra management overhead and inconsistent guest experiences. The goal was to explore a flexible, scalable approach that maintained visual clarity while reducing operational friction for restaurant teams.

approach

Starting with research and stakeholder feedback, I identified core requirements for digital menu boards: adaptability, modularity, and clarity. Using Popmenu’s modular design system, I developed a library of templates that could adapt to multiple brand aesthetics. Rapid prototyping and client testing ensured the solutions were easy to manage and integrate with existing menu workflows.

Key priorities included:

  • visual harmony with web and print menus
  • easy update workflows for operators
  • brand-forward presentation that still supported quick readability

key insights

  • Restaurants needed digital menu boards that stayed visually aligned with their existing web and print menus.
  • Operators prioritized quick, low-friction updates over highly customized but rigid layouts.
  • Readability at a distance was more important than dense information display.
  • Modular templates offered the best balance between brand flexibility and operational simplicity.
  • Integrating on-site displays into the existing Popmenu ecosystem reduced perceived management overhead.

outcome

The result was a set of versatile digital menu board templates that:

  • supported centralized updates within Popmenu’s tools
  • maintained brand consistency across physical and digital experiences
  • offered modular layouts for different contexts (e.g., cafe, bar, quick serve)
  • reduced cognitive and operational friction for staff managing on-site menus

These concepts provided a unified on-site display experience that felt intuitive to guests and efficient for restaurant teams.

reflection

This exploration reinforced the importance of treating on-site displays as part of a broader service ecosystem rather than standalone marketing surfaces. By grounding the work in operator workflows and real-world viewing conditions, the concepts prioritized clarity and maintainability alongside visual flexibility. If taken further, the next step would be validating template performance across a wider range of restaurant environments and measuring the impact of centralized menu updates on staff efficiency.

On-site digital menu board layout showing integrated QR code for seamless ordering and real-time updates.

Mockup of menu board in a cafe setting, emphasizing real-world usability and readability.

Initial concept iterations used to refine modular layout patterns and visual hierarchy for diverse restaurant types.

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