Fourth and Goal.

'Autograph Insert Card Design'

There isn't a lot of design jobs that would afford you the luxury of using full color, 5th color spot metallic, die-cuts, and foil stamping all in one project. But when you design for trading cards it's a common occurrence. They take advantage of all the print special effects offered today. So if you want to make a million bucks easy, just come up with a new unique printing method then license it to trading card companies because they are always looking for an advantage not offered by their competition. Easier said then done though.

The card shown above is called 'Draft Day Ink' each of the cards in this sub set will have a transparent autographed label applied to it. The image shown is a mock-up in that no one yet knows what team Adrian Peterson will be drafted too. The autograph is shown here as an example.

When designing trading cards the design has to be flexible enough that any team color, player name, photo will easily work with the layout.


'Jersey Insert Card Design'

Fitting all the various information, memorabilia and player photos into a space of 2.5"x3.5" can be challenging to say the least. When you have to do it for '3' or more players like the card shown above it makes the design far more complex then one showing a single player. But of course the multi-player cards are far more valuable for collectors if they happen to get it in the pack they buy.

Collecting cards has changed a lot since I was a kid. Today the industry of sports collectibles is almost as competitive as the sports they document but the clear leader in this field is the Upper Deck Company. I had the privilege of working their for three years in their baseball division and now enjoy assisting with the design of all the various brands they create for such as the NFL, MLB and the NHL along with other entertainment categories. The work is fun and knowing collectors will be securing my designs for years to come makes the work that much more satisfying to create.