A Review of Catering Menu for Sarpino's Pizzeria by Emma Simpson

It's hard to know where to start on this one. I have lots of questions and a few suggestions.

First the questions.

• Are these photographs ones which you have commissioned for this job particularly? Is it possible to reshoot? Do you have any other image options?

• Where does the Gourmet experience guaranteed logo originate from? By which I mean is it a recognized logo which appears in other literature or is it something which has been specifically created for this job?

THE BIGGEST SELLING POINT AND BIGGEST FOCUS YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH IS MAKING THE FOOD LOOK BEAUTIFUL - LET IT SELL FOR YOU. SORT OUT THE FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY AND PULL IT INTO 2010

The biggest pull and selling point you have is the food and it isn't looking appetizing. It certainly doesn't look as fresh as you are suggesting in the copy. Putting some lettuces and peppers above a box which looks more like a fast food carton of reheated pre-prepared food isn't saying fresh to me.

Also the colours whilst tying in with the logo are over saturated and really don't look fresh or tasty. Food photography is highly specialized and very technical. My first job was for Good Housekeeping Magazine and I attended a fair few food shoots. There were usually a number of cooks on the shoot who prepared all the food so it was ready seconds before it went under the lights. Photographic lights are cruel to food.

For reference for beautiful food photography I would suggest picking up a copy of Waitrose Food Illustrated or Waitrose Kitchen if you can get hold of them. As you're in the states obviously Martha Stewart of Living Magazine fame has beautiful food shoots inside.

It would be nicer to see the food served on plates with the packaging to one side maybe with the food nicely styled on a plate in the foreground with a little pile of your cartons with the branding on obviously used in the background shot with a narrow depth of field to throw the background slightly out of focus so the focus is on the food.

The styling of this food shoot feels very dated. Again reference things like Living Magazine for some better ideas of styling food photo shoots.

The better you can get your food photography and pictures the better your business should do. Do more to make it feel home made which can be done subliminally with the styling of the shoot.

Also particularly in the middle spread the food could be shot so it illustrates more clearly each thing you offer. Sandwich Trays, Pasta Trays etc. The food by the pasta tray looks like a tray of chicken and there is nothing to illustrate the wraps or the salads.

WELCOME IS THE LAST THING ON THE BACK PAGE?

Welcome surely should come first rather than at the end. If it's an end qualifying paragraph then a differently worded head would work better. If it's a welcome message then it needs to fit onto the first page.

TOO MANY FONTS

On the first page alone I can see 7 in different logos, subheads, lists etc. Simplifying font usage down to two with one extra for the logo should be plenty. Different sizes and weights can be employed to further emphasize and differentiate content as necessary.

For the rest of my review I have made notes on the image.

Overall though I'd like to see some different approaches - some with less copy on, some with different pictures, some with different layouts and then do consumer testing in focus groups and see which ones perform the best for you.

I hope this helps and isn't too off putting. It can be so hard to design things like this and also as I don't know the business closely, it's hard too. I can only go on what you've said are your goals for the business. If you have any more questions, please just ask.