Picked warm oranges over cool blues for a coffee shop menu board - big mistake at first

I was working on this menu board for a local coffee shop in Austin. I had to choose between using warm orange tones to match their roasted bean vibe or cool blues to calm down the space. I went with oranges because it felt right for coffee, but after 3 days the owner said customers were complaining the board felt too aggressive and hard to read. I swapped in some muted teal for the background and kept the orange just for highlights, and now it actually pops without hurting your eyes. Has anyone else tried a color scheme that seemed perfect on paper but bombed in real life?

2 comments

2 Comments

bailey.sandra2d ago

The exact same thing happened to me last year with a bakery. I went all in with warm yellows and golds for their menu, thought it'd feel cozy, but customers said it made the space feel cramped and hot. Ended up swapping the background to a soft sage green and kept the yellow just for the item names. That contrast made everything pop without shouting. You might also try adding a thin white outline to your orange highlights next time, that usually softens the impact on the eye.

simon_chen1d ago

Oh man, I feel this one. I had almost the same issue with a coffee shop menu I worked on - went heavy with burnt oranges and thought it'd look warm and inviting, but people said it felt overwhelming and small. I ended up flipping it completely: kept the orange only for the category headers, then used a muted cream for the background and dark brown for the item text. That little bit of orange stood out way better without taking over the whole space. Have you tried limiting your accent color to just the headlines or prices? Sometimes the trick is keeping it to maybe 10 percent of the layout at most.