Instinct for sports cards: Denver firm decks out NASCAR, other heroes.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Attitude at Altitude - Creative Instinct Inc.

"Every NASCAR trading card on the market comes through my office," said Gavin Levy, the founder and creative director of Creative Instinct Inc. "I know more about it than the biggest NASCAR fan does."

A Denver-based graphic design firm specializing in sports-themed trading cards, Creative Instinct was born in Levy's bedroom in 1998, growing into a loft home office the next year. He hired his first employee while still at the loft, but relocated to an outside office by 1999.

Now five employees strong, Creative Instinct has designed trading cards graced by all sorts of athletes: wrestlers, college football and basketball players, extreme athletes, and even golfers. The company has also done specialty cards for Mattel's Hot Wheels toys and the Discovery Channel's "American Chopper" show.

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But NASCAR cards remain Creative Instinct's bread and butter, and the territory comes with its own unique demands. With 46 different teams that each have their own licensing rights--unlike, say, the National Football League, which controls the licensing for all 32 of its teams--designing NASCAR cards is more difficult than other sports cards, said Levy. Sponsors change on a year-to-year basis, and Creative Instinct often digitally updates the logos on a driver's cards for the next year's set.

Then there are the touchups that have nothing to do with sponsorships. "Some of the wives are in charge of approving the cards, so they want their husbands to look as good as they can," laughed Levy. "There are lots of double chins being removed."

Beyond those touchups, some...