How to Make an Aesthetic TCG Binder: The Michi Method and Creative Card Layouts

An aesthetic TCG binder is more than a place to store your trading cards—it’s a way to turn your collection into something that feels personal, curated, and fun to flip through. Whether you collect Pokémon, One Piece, Magic: The Gathering, or multiple TCGs, organizing your cards by more than just set or rarity can completely change the look and feel of your binder. One popular approach is the Michi method, but there are plenty of other creative ways to build a binder that feels uniquely yours.

What Is the Michi Method?

The Michi method is a way of arranging trading cards based on visual relationships rather than traditional set order. Instead of simply putting cards into your binder chronologically or by number, you look for cards that complement each other through artwork, colours, characters, themes, or overall vibes.

Think of your binder as a miniature art gallery. A page might have cards that share a similar colour palette, feature the same character, or create a visual story when placed next to each other.

The best part? There’s no single “correct” way to do it.

Group Cards by Character

One of the easiest ways to create a cohesive binder is to dedicate sections to your favourite characters.

A Pokémon binder could have a full page of Gengar cards, while an One Piece collection could group cards featuring your favourite characters together. You can also get creative by putting different versions of the same character together—common cards, holos, alternate arts, promos, and even cards from different sets.

This makes your favourite characters feel like the stars of the collection.

Create Colour-Coordinated Pages

Want your binder to look like a Pinterest board? Try organizing cards by colour.

Create an all-pink page, a blue page, a black-and-purple page, or whatever colour combinations you love. You don't even need to stick to one TCG.

For example, a Pokémon card featuring Gengar could sit beside a purple One Piece card, creating a cohesive spread despite the cards coming from completely different games.

Mix Different TCGs

Who says your binder needs to contain only one game?

Mixing cards from different TCGs can create some surprisingly aesthetic pages. You could pair Pokémon and One Piece cards based on colour, character energy, artwork, or even a shared theme.

Try creating pages around concepts like cute, spooky, pink, ocean-themed, villainous, or chaotic rather than the TCG they came from.

Tell a Story With Your Binder

Another fun approach is arranging cards so that each page feels like it tells a story. You could create a page around a specific character, evolution line, relationship, location, or theme.

You can even leave intentional spaces for cards you’re still hunting for. That way, completing the page becomes part of the collecting experience.

Make Your Binder Yours

There’s no wrong way to make an aesthetic TCG binder. The Michi method is a great starting point, but the most interesting binders usually break the rules a little.

Mix sets. Mix TCGs. Organize by colour, character, artwork, or pure ✨vibes✨.

At the end of the day, your binder doesn't have to impress anyone else. It just has to make you want to open it again and again.

- Rafeena