Megascope interspersed with Ed’s Market Bold Script

Studio Yukiko has created a playful, energetic, and—dare I say—delicious design for Door Dash’s Secret Menu magazine about local food culture. From Studio Yukiko:

This issue dives deep into Miami’s almighty hustle - A food scene boasting one of the wildest most diverse restaurant cultures in America. It follows stories of taco stands morphing into Michelin starred Italian spots, Black-owned vegan restaurants, reinvented Jewish delis, Cuban and Caribbean stalwarts, and so much more…

“Wild” and “diverse” could also be used to describe the issue’s design and typography. The fonts and layouts are playful, colorful, fun, and varied, with each article spread getting its own special typographic treatment. There is no shortage of sunset-like linear gradients, text effects like outlines and glows, and mixing of typefaces on the same line.

The eclectic design is united by a core palette of typefaces: Megascope is used across the issue for headlines, a callout to Miami’s connection to Art Deco. Random letters are replaced by Ed’s Market (both Script and Slant styles), bringing some movement and dynamism into the static, geometric typeface. Text is set in Surt and ITC Bookman, with Mrs Sheppards appearing in supporting text such as bylines. Jackpot Italic and Middleton Brush are featured on the cover, and Goudy Two Shoes, Compagnon (& Compagnon Bold), Promenades, Pipo, Generation September and Marlfield make special appearances in individual spreads. One of my favorite details is how the page numbers—mostly set in Megascope—become such a dominant part of the layout. A few tiny appearances of other guest typefaces (for photo credits, or a single word here and there) are not mentioned here.

The design team for this project included Sebastien Millot, Michelle Phillips, and Kir Nazarov, with production by Mike Teevee. David Amsden and Erin Ruffin are the editors-in-chief of the magazine. According to Phillips, “for the Miami Issue for Secret Menu, we wanted to bring the instantly recognisable world of Iconic Miami’s Mimo and Art Deco style together with its lax small-town scrappiness by combining a geometric sans (Megascope), with a brush script (Ed’s Market) to really bring out Miami’s almighty food culture scene.”

Cover ft. Jackpot and Middleton Brush for the title

Table of contents with Megascope for page numbers and headlines and Goudy Two Shoes for “Issue 02”. “Buzzworthy” is set in Compagnon Bold.

Text in ITC Bookman and Surt

Megascope with stacked glyphs and integrated into an image. The bold serif used for “Greater Miami” is Marlfield from Eliott Grunewald.

Megascope plus Ed’s Market with added stripes, compare Gadget. (The font used for “El Palacio de los jugos” is Balloon.)

Compagnon Bold with glossy effect

Megascope combined with Pipo Medium (“Flame”)

Megascope with staircase glyphs and Compagnon for captions

Megascope mixed with Ed’s Market Narrow Slant (“MM”) and Slant (“57”)

“The Great” and “Little Havana” are in Promenades.

Megascope with glow effect plus Generation September set on angle

Credits in Mrs Sheppards, text in Surt

The magazine logo appears to combine Jackpot (with some glyphs inserted from another typeface) and Middleton Brush.

Secret Menu is a new print title from DoorDash that takes a behind-the-scenes look into local food culture, starting with Asian food in Los Angeles.

The magazine is founded on the belief that restaurants mean more than food and focuses on the communities forged by chefs and owners, examining the way their businesses are connected to their neighborhoods.

Words from Studio Yukiko, the designers of the magazine:

We wanted it to look as yummy and creative as cooking itself, with diverse design ingredients, mouth-watering typography, and nutritious colour palettes. Overall as enjoyable to digest it’s contents.

The main display typeface is Pimpit by Benoît Bodhuin. Other fonts in use include Surt by Matthieu Salvaggio and ITC Bookman by Ed Benguiat (body copy), Compagnon by Juliette Duhé and Léa Pradine (captions), Delikaat by Florent Courtaigne (names), and a number of 1970s revivals by Canada Type: Jackpot, Goudy Two Shoes, Middleton Brush, Stretto.

Art Director: Michelle Phillips
Design Director: Sebastien Millot
Designer: Antonina Kozlova

Table of contents

“The Sanctity of Sushi Knives” featuring what looks to be Neue Haas Grotesk.

“Hail Hail beloved Strip Mall” featuring Goudy Two Shoes, Stretto, and an unidentified serif

“From Sea To Table” featuring an unidentified serif

“Forget About Pho” featuring an unidentified serif