How to Plan and Create a Magnetic Menu Wall
Before we begin
There are many options from the beginning. Choose the best option to fit your budget and
Featured: 3" + 2" lowercase, 1" capital helvetica fonts
imagination. For personal wall spaces or business and restaurant wall menus, the methods and options are similar and can use the same basic information presented here.
You can have a magnet-receptive board (examples here) made to almost any size in black or white, or you can use a magnetic paint or magnetic additive for other paint colors to make a smooth wall magnet-receptive. Pros and Cons of each kind?
Boards can be expensive, but have a higher magnetic attraction to the letters than paint, especially if the paint is over a textured or rough and uneven wall. Some boards are also available with dry-erase marker finish or chalk finish!
Paint can be initially less expensive than a magnetic board, but will require maintenance (repainting) every 2-3 years, depending on the quality of the paint used and the environmental conditions to which the paint is exposed (air, light, wind, toxic or other gasses and exposure).
Choosing the look
You can choose from all-text (letters or wording strips only),
All-graphic which includes photograph panels and photo or illustrated strips,
and combinations which include a little of both styles.
Individual letters or graphic blocks
What's the difference?
Price-wise, that depends on the scope of the complete project. For wall menu projects of 2 square feet or smaller (usually personal craft projects are this minimum size), the individual lettering may work well. For larger projects of course, the combination board is the more logical option, allowing for moveable graphics or images to take the place of individual letters and letter strips.
See an example of ready-to-use Die-Cut Letters, Letter Cards and Economy Punched Letters (these cost less but require you to remove the letter from the scrap material around it).
What size letters will work for my project?
A good rule of thumb is to determine the distance in which the board will be viewed. Indoors, that's an average of 10 feet to over 35 feet. For most boards, the size of the letter may be the smallest commercially available, 1" (readable 20-30 feet on a contrasting color background).
For a menu with headings and ingredient lists, this company chose to use 2" lowercase headings, 1.5" menu item names and 1" ingredients. See how it came out.
The project shown required over 2,500 individual letters and covered two walls.
