Brainstorming & Whiteboarding Tools for Information Designers
Design thinking plays a substantial role in every information design project. Although there are many different design thinking processes out there, ideation is a key phase in any model. This phase allows people to generate ideas, organize thoughts, and come up with a variety of solutions to a problem. This blog post will highlight 5 online brainstorming and whiteboarding tools to help achieve these needs and make the ideation process easy and fun.
Coggle
Coggle is an online software for creating and sharing mind maps and flowcharts. It works online in your browser, so you won’t need to download or install anything. You can share your mind maps with as many people as you like and any changes you make will instantly show up in their browsers, wherever they may be in the world (Coggle, n.d.-a).
Key features of Coggle include:
- real-time collaboration
- save every change
- unlimited image uploads
- add floating text and images
- create loops and join branches
- add multiple central items
My Experience
After signing in to Coggle, one of the first things I saw was a little window that listed shortcuts, which was helpful as a first-time user.
I tested the software out by creating a very simple diagram based on the topic of animals.
It was very easy to create a new diagram and it only took me a few minutes to put together. I noticed that it also had a chat feature and presentation mode, both of which are super helpful when working in group settings.
Coggle is one of the simpler tools on this list as you’re only limited to mind mapping and nothing more, but it’s still a great tool to use when you’re in the brainstorming phase and want to quickly get your thoughts and ideas out there.
Overall, I found Coggle simple to use and navigate. The interface design could use a bit of a revamp, but I did not experience any major issues while using it.
Price
Coggle’s free version allows 3 private diagrams, but unlimited public diagrams, which is a great deal if you don’t mind your work being public. You also have over 1600 icons, full change history, PDF and image download, and more available in the free version as well. If you want a bit more flexibility, you can upgrade to either the Awesome plan, which is $5/month per person, or the Business plan which is $8/month per person (Coggle, n.d.-b).
To learn more about Coggle, and its features and pricing plans, visit https://coggle.it/.
MindMeister
MindMeister is another online mind mapping tool that allows you to visualize and share your ideas, collaborate with your team, and manage your tasks. You can use MindMeister in your browser, or get the mobile versions from Apple’s App Store or the Google Play store (MindMeister, n.d.-a).
Key features of MindMeister include:
- Themes
- Mixed map layouts
- Templates
- Key shortcuts
- Connections
- Outline mode
- Expandable notes
- Attachments
- Focus mode
- Brainstorm mode, commenting, and versions history
- Roles and permissions
- PDF, Word, and PowerPoint export options
My Experience
Like Coggle, after signing in, a window popped up and guided me through the basic features of the software, which was very useful as I had not used it before. To test it out, I re-created the same mind-map about animals.
I found the interface user-friendly and easy to navigate. Because I was using a free version, however, I could only access basic features such as changing themes, adding comments, notes, connections, and emojis. The more unique functions like file and media attachments, PDF and image export, and Word and PowerPoint export, are only available through paid plans. It also had no chat feature, which is useful when you’re working with others.
Overall, it still did the job of creating a visually appealing mind map.
Price
With MindMeister’s free version, you’re only limited to 3 mind maps and basic features. To access the features mentioned above, you can upgrade to the personal plan, which is $5 USD/month, or the Pro plan, which is $8.25 USD/month (MindMeister, n.d.-b).
It would be beneficial if users want those extra features, but if you’re just there for the mind mapping aspect and to arrange your ideas, then the free version still gets the job done.
To learn more about MindMeister, and its features and pricing plans, visit https://www.mindmeister.com/.
Stormboard
Stormboard is a shared workspace to help teams work better together. It helps you generate 10x more ideas than you would in a regular meeting. It also allows you to group similar ideas together, remove any duplicates, and look for patterns. You can use it in your browser, or get it on the App Store, Google Play, or Windows 10 (Stormboard, n.d.-a).
Key features of Stormboard include:
- Seamless remote collaboration
- Certified data security
- Built-in business processes
- Instant meeting notes
- Several app integrations, including Microsoft Teams, Slack, Zapier, and more
My Experience
Because I was a first-time user, there was a window that popped which guided me on how to use the software, increasing its user-friendliness.
It was very easy to create a new Storm. I didn’t use any template and just created a Basic Storm. To keep things consistent, I stuck to the same simple animal brainstorming session as I did with the other two tools, but used sticky notes instead of a mind map.
Each sticky note can be its own whiteboard, which helps keep the board less crowded and busy looking. There are also vote, timer, search, and chat features that aid in creating more productive brainstorming sessions.
Overall, I did not find it difficult to use and liked that it had more features than the other two options.
Price
Like the other tools, Stormboard also offers a free version, but you’re only limited to 5 boards. If you want more boards and features, you’ll have to upgrade to either the Business or Enterprise plan, which you can get for $10/month per member or $16.67/month per member, respectively (Stormboard, n.d.-b). Both paid plans also have free trials available.
Generally speaking, the free plan is good for personal use and small teams.
To learn more about Stormboard, and its features and pricing plans, visit https://stormboard.com/.
Miro
On their website, Miro is described as “an online whiteboard built to help you collaborate with others any time, anywhere” (Miro, n.d.-a). With Miro you can brainstorm, plan, iterate, design, teach, and meet. You can use Miro in your browser, or get it on the App Store or Google Play.
Key features of Miro include:
- Pre-built templates, including affinity diagrams, customer journey maps, wireframing, and workflows
- Embedding documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, and images onto your board
- Several integrations such as Jira, Zoom, Slack, and more
- Digitizing handwritten sticky notes
My Experience
To test it out, I used Miro’s mind map template to create the same animal mind map as in the other examples. When you create a new board for the first time, there’s a short video that pops up and tells you about the basic features of the software, which is quite helpful since Miro has so much variety in terms of what you can do with it.
The template was very useful, and it only took me a few minutes to create my mind map. I’ve used Miro before and have used its other features like uploading images, documents, and Google Forms. It was very easy to do all of that as I could do it within just a few clicks.
On the sidebar, there are the standard tools that most of the other software had like the pen tool, the connection tool, sticky notes, and shapes. Features like the timer, voting, and video conferencing are part of the paid plans.
All in all, Miro was relatively easy to use and offers a lot of variety and flexibility than the previous tools mentioned in this list. However, because of its complexity, there is a bit of a learning curve when using this tool for the first time.
Price
Miro does have a free option, which I was using, but it only allows you up to 3 editable boards. You’re also limited to pre-made templates in the free version, whereas in the Team and Business models, you can get unlimited boards, visitors, and templates. If you do want to upgrade and get unlimited boards, it will cost you $8/month per member (Miro, n.d.-b).
Overall, you can still do so much with just the free version alone and have access to many cool features.
To learn more about Miro, and its features and pricing plans, visit https://miro.com/online-whiteboard/.
MURAL
As described on their website, MURAL is a “space for your team to collaborate visually and problem-solve faster with an easy-to-use digital canvas. MURAL has powerful facilitation features, guided methods, and the deep expertise organizations need to transform teamwork” (Mural, n.d.-a). You can work with MURAL in your browser, or download it from the App Store or Google Play.
Key features of MURAL include:
- Over 300 templates, including brainstorming and ideation, meetings and workshops, strategies and planning, and design research and analysis
- Resources for hybrid and remote teams, including work persona quizzes, client engagement ebooks, and templates and strategies for Agile teams
- Sticky notes, text, shapes, connectors
- Icons, frameworks, images, drawing
- Timer
- Summon participants, voting, reacting
- Outline
- Superlock
- Private mode
- Commenting, chat, and voice call features
- Several integrations including Dropbox, Slack, Documents, and more
My Experience
After signing in, it was very easy to create a new mural. To test it out, I started with a blank template and created the same simple mind map of animals using sticky notes. It only took me a few minutes to create and was very easy to do so. I tried out some of their other features like adding images, adding a framework, and sharing my link, and didn’t run into any issues in the process.
My overall experience of using Mural as a first-time user was very positive. It was easy to use and it’s a very dynamic tool that lets you visually collaborate with others easily. Like Miro, however, there is a learning curve with this software due to its complexity.
Price
With MURAL’s free option, you get 5 free murals and have access to all visual collaboration and facilitation features, including timer and voting, which are part of the paid plan in Miro. You also get access to a full template library and custom templates built by members. If you want access to unlimited murals, privacy control, and are planning to use this software frequently, you can upgrade to the Team+ or Business options, which are $9.99 USD/month per member and $17.99 USD/month per member, respectively (Mural, n.d.-b).
Overall, the free version is still a great option for brainstorming and beyond.
To learn more about MURAL, and its features and pricing plans, visit https://www.mural.co/.
Conclusion
In general, I found each tool relatively smooth and easy to navigate. If you’re looking for something that is good for personal use or small teams, then Coggle, MindMeister, and Stormboard would be the best options for this. These tools are also good to use if you want to create something quickly and not very complex. Miro and MURAL, on the other hand, are great for teams and to have more engaging and meaningful sessions that go beyond brainstorming.
Even though all these tools vary in terms of complexity and price, any one of them would be effective for mapping out and organizing your thoughts and ideas.
Happy brainstorming!
References
Coggle. (n.d.-a). Home. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://coggle.it/
Coggle. (n.d.-b). Pricing. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://coggle.it/#pricing
MindMeister. (n.d.-a). Home. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.mindmeister.com
MindMeister. (n.d.-b). Pricing. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.mindmeister.com/mind-map-pricing
Miro. (n.d.-a). Index. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://miro.com/
Miro. (n.d.-b). Pricing. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://miro.com/pricing/
Mural. (n.d.-a). Mural. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.mural.co/
Mural. (n.d.-b). Pricing. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://www.mural.co/pricing
Stormboard. (n.d.-a). Dashboard. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://stormboard.com/
Stormboard. (n.d.-b). Pricing. Retrieved March 2, 2022, from https://stormboard.com/pricing
