RESTAURANT NAME
Jamba
LOCATION
Charlotte Douglas International Airport | Charlotte, NC
6.33 |Overall Score
Digital Menu Boards are becoming more and more pervasive for restaurants of all types. As experts in the industry, we break down key details of specific implementations and provide a score based on three primary categories:
7.0 | Creative Design – How well is the overall design executed
5.0 | Organization – How well is the content laid out
7.0 | Physical Setup – How good is the physical presentation
Jamba, formerly known as Jamba Juice, is a popular chain of smoothie and juice bars founded in 1990 in California. They offer a wide variety of freshly-made smoothies, juices, bowls, and other healthy snacks and beverages, with a focus on using high-quality, natural ingredients. The following digital menu board scorecard is based on their location in Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC.
Creative Design (Score: 7/10)
Branding – The digital menu board for Jamba incorporates colorful, appetizing images of menu items (although a little small) and an overall design which helps convey the brand. The colors used throughout the menu and LTO area mirror the colors found in the Jamba logo.
Visual Appeal – The overall aesthetic of the menus are nice and consistent with the Jamba brand. However, with the expanded menu that Jamba now offers the content seems very dense which makes it harder to scan. The layout also doesn’t maximize available space with a cluttered feeling and not enough negative space. While images are used, they are relatively small and don’t command as much attention as they could to really showcase the products. Overall, the creative elements have potential but need refinement to create a cleaner aesthetic that is visually appealing.
Typography – The type treatment in these menus is clean but the density of the content is a challenge. Long descriptions have forced the menus to have very small typefaces which can be difficult to read. Striking a balance between informative and readable was likely a big challenge for the designers of these menus.
Organization (Score: 5/10)
Information Layout – Organizationally, the menu board is divided into clear product categories (bowls, smoothies, iced beverages, etc.) which helps segment the information. However, the presentation of the categories lacks clear visual hierarchy to guide the customer’s eye – the various sections all compete for attention rather than having clear priority or flow. The traditional Jamba offering could have been split off to the left with the LTO in the middle and the newer food offering to the right. This may have helped to segment the offering better.
Clarity – The biggest challenge with these menus is the density of the content. The central smoothies section is especially text-heavy and difficult to read. While individual item descriptions provide helpful info, overall the volume of text is too dense and needs streamlining to improve clarity and scannability.
Physical Setup (Score 7/10)
Displays – The screens themselves appear to be commercial grade displays of ample size, allowing content to be presented at a highly legible scale. Placement on the wall is at an appropriate height for standing customers. However, several aspects detract from a polished setup. While not clearly visible, some exposed cables underneath the screens are apparent. The leftmost screen seems slightly misaligned compared to the others. Most notably, the screens’ brightness levels are inconsistent, with the center screen appearing brighter than the sides, and the color tone of each display is different.
While this digital menu board system has positive elements, it has room for improvement in each category. Organization is the biggest weakness, requiring substantial editing and layout changes to improve clarity and usability. The physical setup is nice and with small modifications could be excellent.
