Best-in-Class Trade Print: Why MKM Building Supplies Needed Clearer Design Guidelines

What actually makes a piece of marketing design good?

Is it the logo?

The colours?

A nice image?

Or is it whether someone actually understands what you're trying to tell them?

This is something I've been thinking about a lot while working on MKM Building Supplies' Best in Class Trade Print Guidelines for 2026.

Because, let's be honest, “that looks good” isn't really a design strategy.

And when you're producing everything from print adverts and billboards to pitchside boards, we needed a much clearer definition of what good design actually looks like.

So, what was the problem?

MKM produces a lot of marketing creative across different branches, campaigns and formats.

And while the brand might be the same, the way we use it can't always be.

A billboard isn't a print advert.

A print advert isn't a pitchside board.

And a pitchside board definitely isn't a sales brochure.

Yet it's surprisingly easy to fall into the trap of treating them all in the same way.

More information.

More products.

More messages.

More logos.

More stuff.

Before you know it, you've got an advert that's technically saying everything it needs to say, but nobody can actually be bothered to read it.

And that's the problem I wanted to solve.

What does “Best in Class” actually mean?

I didn't want to create another set of brand guidelines that people could look at, nod at and then forget about.

I wanted something practical.

Something that could help answer the question:

“Is this actually working as hard as it could?”

So I created a Good, Better, Best framework.

Good

Good design gets the message across.

It's clear, informative and branded. It contains the key information and does what it needs to do.

But it might still have more copy or more messages than necessary.

Nothing wrong with it.

But we can do better.

Better

This is where the design starts working harder.

A stronger headline.

Better hierarchy.

A more focused message.

And, importantly, a distinctive MKM tone of voice.

It's easier to understand and more likely to be remembered.

Best

Simple.

Bold.

Effective.

One clear message.

Instant readability.

Strong visual impact.

Unmistakably MKM.

That's the standard I wanted us to aim for.

Not because every piece of creative has to look the same, but because every piece should work.

One size definitely doesn't fit all

This was probably one of the biggest things the MKM Trade Print Guidelines needed to address.

Take a billboard.

You've got seconds to get someone's attention. They aren't going to stop the car, get out their phone and start reading six lines of copy.

So the guidance is simple:

One idea.
Minimal copy.
Large typography.
Strong contrast.
Clear branding.

If a driver can't understand it at a glance, it's too complicated.

Then you've got a pitchside board.

Different job.

Different environment.

Different rules.

Here, we're thinking brand first, fewer words, maximum visibility and simple layouts.

In fact, the guideline is to think signage, not sales brochure.

And then there's print advertising, where we've got a little more time to communicate — but that doesn't mean we should fill every available inch.

Focus on one key message.

Support it with a strong visual.

Make the branch and contact details easy to find.

And please, for the love of good design, don't try to squeeze every product category into one advert.

Because more doesn't always mean better

I think this is one of the biggest misconceptions in marketing design.

If there's space, we fill it.

If there's room for another product, we add it.

If there's another message we could include, why not?

Because everything can't be the most important thing.

If everything shouts, nothing stands out.

The best creative often comes from deciding what doesn't need to be there.

And then there's the MKM tone of voice

Creating consistency isn't about making everything look corporate or identical.

MKM has a personality.

We're Northern.

We're informal.

We're straight-talking.

And we're not afraid to have a bit of fun.

The guidelines include practical examples of how that personality should come through in Trade marketing, including conversational language, British slang and local colloquialisms.

Because there's a big difference between:

“We know our stuff.”

and:

“We would like to take this opportunity to inform you of our market-leading expertise.”

One sounds like MKM.

The other sounds like it was written by a committee.

The three-second test

One of my favourite parts of the guidelines is the simplest.

Would this still work if someone only looked at it for three seconds?

That's it.

Three seconds.

Because that's the reality of a lot of Trade advertising.

People are driving past our billboards.

They're walking past our pitchside boards.

They're flicking through publications.

They're not sitting down with a cup of tea thinking, “I wonder what MKM has to say today?”

We need to grab their attention and get the message across quickly.

The final checklist gives the team a simple way to test this, alongside questions around hierarchy, unnecessary copy, branding and viewing distance.

So, what have the guidelines actually solved?

For me, this is where the project becomes more than just another PDF.

The MKM Best in Class Trade Print Guidelines give us a shared benchmark.

They help designers understand what we're aiming for.

They help marketers brief creative more effectively.

They give us something objective to refer back to when reviewing work.

And they help us make better decisions about how we use the MKM brand across different print formats.

Most importantly, they move the conversation away from:

“Do you like it?”

and towards:

“Does it work?”

That's a much more useful conversation.

Good design looks good. Best-in-class design works.

I didn't create these guidelines to put creativity in a box.

I created them to give creativity a stronger foundation.

Because when everyone understands what we're trying to achieve, there's actually more room to be creative within it.

The aim isn't for every MKM advert to look identical.

It's for every MKM advert to feel like it belongs to the same brand, communicate its message clearly and make an impact in the environment it's designed for.

And sometimes, the answer isn't adding more.

It's taking something away.

Because the best design isn't the one that says the most.

It's the one that makes you remember what matters.