Due 2/10 (Created with Kala Taylor)

The above four images are like a 4 page book. The two center images will open up, and the last image is the back of the menu.

When designing our menu for the Bangkok Thai Restaurant we instantly knew that we wanted to emphasize culture. We then searched and downloaded the Thai land font “Pad Thai” to include as our main font within the menu’s title and subtitles. Because we felt this font was harder to read the smaller it got we made the decision to use an alternate Bangkok font, “Silom”, for the menu’s actual description. Although the font might not be identifiable to most, the name is very identifiable to those of Thai culture as it is one of the most well known streets in Bangkok. We also wanted to make it clear that when creating this menu that although it has Thai emphasis, it was created for the American audience. We show this through our simplistic color and design theme. We also right-aligned the text on the cover to constitute what we have learned through Robin Williams, which is: Even though right alignment can cause the title and subtitles to be distant there is still a visual connection between the two elements. Our mindset behind the use of more than one bamboo on the cover was to implement depth. Often, depth is eliminated in design and unfortunately so, as it is one of the most visually intriguing concepts. The bamboo on the cover also gives an element of proximity. In this area of design the eyes are enthralled by the two visually similar objects placed in close proximity within each other. To add proximity, and to add to the visual intrigue we included an elephant, which is Thai land’s national animal.

Although we right aligned the cover page for visual captivation, we decided to keep the actual items and descriptions within the menu left aligned. We did this as to not confuse our American target audience. We chose to keep the text aligned and consistent; we did not want to overwhelm our audience with multiple fonts, colors, or schemes. We took into account that most Americans skim and scan text so we indented the descriptions from the titles of the menu items as to appeal to a quicker find for the audience. We used repetition through the art scheme of the bamboo sticks to take the eyes towards the titles within the menu. We also used repetition with the bamboo sticks within the menu but they are vaguely shown so that we are not taking away from the context of the menu’s descriptions. Contrast is an obvious element as the use of black and white are executed. Black and white creates the highest contrast possible. Also a pure green has a very large contrast with black as well. We wanted to stay concise with our document so we were sure to use the same approach throughout our menu, we feel through our consistency and positive versus negative spacing we have eliminated ambiguity. Everything on our menu was created with a purpose, whether it was to add depth through art, or limit our font sizes to 4 and our font styles to only 2. We thought of perception of the audience and we wanted to eliminate that Gestalt rule of common fate in which the expected colors are red and probably poor design. We wanted to give a mental transaction or interaction within our audience’s minds of simplicity, cleanliness, and a sense of Thai land Americanized.