The mind-hacking begins when you get the menu.

Have you ever noticed that a lot of restaurants list prices as plain numbers? Have you ever wondered why they do that? Is it minimalism? Is it part of their visual design principles? Or there’s a bigger agenda here? I noticed that the restaurant I had been to had only a “1750” next to the Lava Tartare…, with no “Dollar” text of $ symbol beside it. In fact it didn’t have any indication that it’s the price.

This is not the work of an aesthetically conscious graphic designer. This is the work of a behaviour designer. Somebody with intentions similar to mine — influence your behaviour. Studies have repeatedly shown that across cultures and countries, people spend more when there’s no currency symbol beside the menu. This works equally well in shopping websites as well. Just putting a number increases conversion compared to when there’s a dollar symbol beside it.

You might be surprised to know that only thinking about money makes you cringe (subconsciously) and can sometimes make you experience a kind of physical pain as well. If you put somebody in a brain scanner and let them trade huge sums of money on stocks, the part of the brain that would light up when they lose money is the same part that feels physical pain.

Removing the currency symbol and even the currency word (Dollar) from menus can increase average spendings at a restaurant by at least 8–12%. This is because people who see only the numerical value, are less concerned about the price of what they are ordering.

Money can literally be a pain in your ass. If it were to be removed, you can order food easily. You’ll feel the pain only when he bill comes. The same thing applies to paying with credit cards — you never see the money go. But the bill eventually comes due.

Also, the numbers are never comma separated. Instead of 1,750, it’s 1750. The comma makes the number look a tad bit big. But if there’s a discount, then the struck-off number usually would have a comma— gives you the impression that the previous amount was huge.

Also, have you wondered what’s with the names of food these days? Have you noticed the customised fancy sounding names food seems to have. It’s like somebody hired a copywriter just to cook up some well sounding names. Gone are the days when the menu had a simple “green salad” or a “chocolate cake.” Now you’ve got “Jackson’s Green Mountain Salad” and “Jimmy’s Chocolate Lake.”

I’m still waiting for “Deadpool’s Chimichangas.” If you know of a place that has it, please reply in the comments.

All these trouble to come with cool sounding names do serve a good purpose. The names act as differentiators. You can get a burger anywhere, but you get a “Morning Jumburger” only at Harry’s. This builds loyalty. The taste remains the same, but you identify with the name, or the brand. So many people love McDonald’s not because of their taste, but because they love McDonald’s.

Next time you come across a fancy sounding name, try translating the names in your head first and then eat. See if you still want to eat there everyday. Adding colourful descriptors can increase sales by up to 27%. You know who’s paying for them Good Will’s Apples.