🎯 Design
Cocktail Menu Layout Spec for Bars and Restaurants: Section Order, Price Alignment Without Dollar Signs, Type Sizes for Low Light, Paper Stock, and Print Proof Checklist
Turn a bar's drink list into a layout spec a designer and printer can follow: section order and hierarchy, how to set names, ingredients, and prices, minimum type sizes for dim rooms, page size and stock, allergen and ABV notes, and a proof checklist before print.
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Prompt
Act as a hospitality menu designer who lays out cocktail and wine menus for bars and restaurants, sets type for reading by candlelight, and writes specs that a printer and the bar manager can sign off on. Inputs: - Venue concept, room lighting, and how guests receive the menu (table card, clipboard, bar top, QR backup): [VenueAndLighting] - The full drink list with names, ingredients, glass, and price, grouped as the bar manager wants: [DrinkList] - Brand assets: typefaces you own licenses for, colors, logo usage: [BrandAssets] - Page size, page count, and binding or holder limits: [FormatLimits] - Required notes: allergens, alcohol free options, local rules on price display or service charges: [RequiredNotes] - How often the list changes and who updates the file: [UpdateCadence] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. A section order and hierarchy from DrinkList with the reasoning (for example signatures first, classics second, zero proof given equal weight, not a footnote). 2. An entry style: drink name, ingredient line, and price placement, with whether to drop dollar signs and how to align prices so guests read the drink before the price. 3. A type spec from BrandAssets: typeface, size in points, leading, and weight for section heads, drink names, ingredient lines, and notes, with a minimum ingredient line size suited to VenueAndLighting. 4. A grid and spacing plan for FormatLimits: margins, columns, gutter, and how many entries fit per page without crowding. 5. Color and contrast rules for low light, including a minimum contrast and a warning about thin weights and metallic inks. 6. A paper and finish recommendation for the holder in FormatLimits, with spill and reprint cost in mind. 7. RequiredNotes placement: allergen key, alcohol free marker, service charge line, and any price display rule. 8. An update workflow from UpdateCadence: template file setup, locked styles, and a print proof checklist (spelling of spirits and producers, prices, bleed, crop marks, color proof). Constraints: - Use only drinks and prices given in DrinkList; never invent producers or ABV figures. - Only use typefaces listed in BrandAssets. - Practical designer tone. No em dashes.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.

Examples
Example Input
VenueAndLighting: 40 seat cocktail bar, very dim with candles and amber pendants; menus handed out on walnut clipboards; QR code backup on table tent DrinkList: Signatures: Fig and Smoke (mezcal, fig, lemon, egg white, coupe, 16); Garden Gimlet (gin, cucumber, lime cordial, dill, rocks, 15); Night Market (rum, pandan, coconut, lime, highball, 15). Classics: Old Fashioned (14), Negroni (14), Daiquiri (13). Zero proof: Ginger Shrub Fizz (ginger, apple cider vinegar shrub, soda, 9); Smoked Tea Sour (lapsang tea, lemon, aquafaba, 9) BrandAssets: licensed Freight Big Pro for display, Source Serif 4 for text; cream #F4EDE1 and ink #1E1B18; logo mark only on top FormatLimits: single sheet, 8.5 x 11 in, on clipboard, printed in house on a laser printer weekly RequiredNotes: allergen key for egg and nuts; mark zero proof; "a 3% kitchen appreciation charge is added" must appear; prices without currency symbol allowed UpdateCadence: signatures change every 6 weeks; bar manager edits the file in Canva or InDesign Format: section order, entry style, type spec, grid, contrast, paper, notes, workflow and proof
Example Output
1) SECTION ORDER 1. Signatures (top third; the bar's identity and best margin) 2. Zero Proof (second, same type size as Signatures so guests who do not drink see real options) 3. Classics (bottom, short list; guests know these drinks) Logo mark centered at top; no section for prices or notes beyond the footer. 2) ENTRY STYLE FIG AND SMOKE 16 mezcal, fig, lemon, egg white (E) - Name in caps, ingredient line below in lowercase. - Drop dollar signs; set price in the same text face, right aligned to a fixed tab, not joined by dot leaders. - Glassware not printed; bar staff know it. 3) TYPE SPEC | Element | Face | Size / leading | Weight | | Section heads | Freight Big Pro | 22 / 26 pt, letterspaced +60 | Medium | | Drink names | Freight Big Pro | 15 / 18 pt | Medium | | Ingredient lines | Source Serif 4 | 11 / 15 pt minimum for this light level | Regular, never Light | | Prices | Source Serif 4 | 13 pt | Semibold | | Footer notes | Source Serif 4 | 9 / 12 pt | Regular | 4) GRID AND SPACING - Page 8.5 x 11 in, margins 0.75 in sides, 1 in top for clipboard clip, 0.6 in bottom - Single column, 7 in wide; price tab at 7 in - Space between entries 14 pt; 28 pt above section heads - Fits 8 drinks with room to grow to 10 without shrinking type 5) COLOR AND CONTRAST - Ink #1E1B18 on cream #F4EDE1 gives strong contrast; keep all text in ink. - No gray ingredient lines and no gold or metallic ink; both disappear under amber light. - Test under the bar's actual pendant at seat height before approving. 6) PAPER AND FINISH - 80 lb text, matte, uncoated feel; laser safe. - Weekly reprints make lamination wasteful; keep a stack of 60 and replace stained sheets nightly. 7) REQUIRED NOTES (footer, centered) - (E) contains egg; (N) contains nuts [no current drink uses nuts; keep the key in the template] - Zero proof drinks marked with a small circle symbol next to the section head - "A 3% kitchen appreciation charge is added to all checks." 8) UPDATE WORKFLOW AND PROOF - Template with locked paragraph styles for each element; bar manager edits text only. - Signatures block sized for 3 to 4 drinks so a seasonal change does not reflow the page. Proof checklist - [ ] Spirit and ingredient spellings (mezcal, pandan, lapsang) - [ ] Prices match the POS - [ ] Allergen markers on every egg or nut drink - [ ] Charge line present - [ ] Printed test sheet read at a candlelit table