You might have heard of the Michi Method. If not, it is a binder organization approach. Instead of filling every pocket uniformly, the method uses layouts that mix single cards, multi-slot visuals, and intentional negative space. I believe this was popularized by @peeplop on Instagram, whose binder layouts show examples of the approach.
Because the Michi Method is so layout-driven, some collectors may want a way to preview or plan pages digitally before committing to a physical binder. Below is my method I used on Canva to create pages. Perhaps in the future I’ll make templates for various binder sizes and layouts, but for now I wanted to share how I made this preview:
Go to Canva.com and create a project, then follow these steps:
Create a new canvas (1920 × 1080 works well for an open-binder view).
Place a photo of an open card binder onto the canvas and scale it to fit.
Add card images and artwork as new layers on top of the binder photo.
Crop each image so it fits within one pocket or spans multiple pockets, depending on the intended layout. In the example I made I took one large photo of a leviathan and cropped it down to the size of 2 card slots. Then I copied that cropped image, fit it over the original, then re-cropped to make another 2 card slot. This keeps things in line. A bit hard to explain in text.
Mix card images and illustrations around until you find a layout you like.
Is anyone else interested in this type of binder organization? Would templates be useful?
this is really cool!! i’ve been planning my layouts in excel and now GIMP, but nice to see that canva offers the same capabilities. i’ve never used canva, sounds like it’s purely browser based?
Since this artist binder takes up all the space, i could only style it with an opening page. paper was taped to energy cards so it wasn’t so flimsy. i’ll end up using the empty slots up front for duplicate cards i like most. just got the machamp promo today. three total remaining, with one in the mail.
I kept most duplicates (ultimate, reverse holos, versions) in a separate binder unless they were from a different set. that made it easier to include all the different arts to one binder. i could probably do a 4x4 page binder but feel like it would be easier to damage cards since i’m already kind of clumsy.
Thanks for sharing! The Michi method sure looks nice, every time I see it. Such an original way of filling up empty spaces.
Unfortunately, it’s best suited for binders with side loaders that oppose each other, for those 1x2 blocks of artworks. I don’t think it’ll look as good in my older binder where all cards come in from the top.
As for a nice example of the Michi method in action: @slowqueen used it in a few of her binder pages:
Is it an unpopular opinion that this ‘michi’ method > slabs?
I probably saw it for the first time on here in someone’s collection thread and it looks stunning. The ability for you to customize (otherwise I actually think ACE is on the right track) also makes it unique and the displays can be unrivalled compared to slabs.
I can only think of the people who create extended artwork frames as an equivalent.
Thanks for posting, you can use cardstock in a cricut machine (crafting hobby item) and colour printer attached to the laptop. This combination will print desired design onto card stock, and then cut out perfectly the size/ shaping of a Pokemon card as well. Once set up it saves a lot of time.
