Memphis. 80s pop.

1980s confetti

Memphis takes its name from the Italian design group that filled the 1980s with triangles, zigzags and impossible colours. The margins of the page are scattered with confetti: squiggles, triangles, dots, circles and zigzags in pink, yellow, turquoise and purple. The venue’s name is set in Shrikhand, a heavy, slanted typeface, with a pink shadow on a yellow block.

Section titles are slanted pink blocks trailing a wavy black squiggle. Dishes are set in Sora, clear and geometric, with prices in bold. A featured dish is a card with a turquoise shadow.

The menu it suits

Ice cream parlours, brunch spots, waffle and crêpe bars, milkshakes and street food. Short, cheerful menus with fun names and a line of description that says what each thing is. The decoration stays in the margins and the headers; the dishes area is white, so it reads effortlessly.

For ice creams and shakes in several sizes, use price columns with headings (“Small”, “Medium”, “Large”). And mark allergens carefully: on a dessert menu, milk, egg, gluten and nuts appear on almost every line.

Formats where it shines

• Two-column A4: the full menu with confetti all around.
• 4:5 post and 9:16 story: the confetti and colour blocks look great on a phone.
• A3 poster: in the window of an ice cream parlour.
• Daily menu: the title on a dark block, headings in pink and the price on a yellow splash.

If you like the colour but want something more graphic and less festive, compare it with Screenprint or Bauhaus.

Tips to get the most out of it

• The confetti stays in the margins: don’t add more colour to the descriptions, dishes need to read on white.
• It suits short, cheerful menus: ice creams, waffles, milkshakes, toppings.
• The pink follows the accent and the black follows the ink; the rest of the confetti has fixed colours.
• As a 4:5 post or a story, the confetti and the colour blocks look great on a phone.

Colours, fonts, columns and format can all be changed in the editor without losing the design. It works on A4, US Letter, slim A4, A5, booklet, tri-fold, A3 and images for social media.