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6 Best Brainstorming & Mind Mapping Tools - Boost Creativity

June 14, 2007
6 Best Brainstorming & Mind Mapping Tools - Boost Creativity

Brainstorming and Diagramming Tools: A Comprehensive Overview

The spectrum of available tools ranges from simple, universally accessible platforms for live brainstorming sessions to sophisticated, technically advanced diagram creation software.

Basic Mind-Mapping Solutions

(1) ImaginationCubed – Previously a visually appealing and straightforward tool designed for live collaborative brainstorming. Users could invite partners and share a single dashboard to construct mind maps.

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Features:

  • Live collaboration capabilities.
  • Maps could be distributed via email.
  • The ability to replay previous steps in the mapping process.
  • Options to save and print created maps.
  • Toggleable background grid for enhanced clarity.

(2) Bubbl.us – This platform facilitates the rapid creation of customized bubble mind maps, enabling seamless sharing with colleagues for collaborative refinement.

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Features:

  • Creation, saving, printing, sharing, and collaborative editing of maps.
  • Embedding maps on external platforms like blogs and web profiles.
  • Exporting maps in XML, HTML, or image formats (JPEG, PNG).
  • An interactive drag-and-drop interface for intuitive map building.
  • Keyboard shortcuts and mousewheel zoom functionality.

(3) Mind42 – A versatile mind mapping tool suited for developing highly customizable organizational charts. Each node within a chart can be individually colored, transformed into an image, enhanced with a custom icon, linked to external resources, or supplemented with attachments.

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Features:

  • Sharing and collaborative note-taking.
  • Embedding maps on various websites.
  • Printing of maps.
  • Integrated live chat via Google Talk.
  • Keyboard shortcuts for efficient operation.
  • Drag-and-drop interface for ease of use.
  • Exporting maps in Freemind, Mindmanager, and RTF formats.

Advanced Mind-Mapping Platforms

(4) Mindmeister – Offers greater flexibility compared to Mind42, providing more styling and formatting choices, a wider selection of embeddable icons, a convenient sidebar within the mapping dashboard, and additional functionalities.

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Features:

  • Free accounts are limited to six mind maps.
  • Sharing and collaborative mind map editing.
  • Map printing capabilities.
  • Integrated Skype conference call functionality.
  • Embedding maps into blogs or websites.
  • Drag-and-drop interface for intuitive use.
  • Keyboard shortcuts for streamlined workflow.
  • Importing maps from FreeMind and Mindjet's MindManager, and exporting to RTF or GIF image formats.

(5) Mindomo – A feature-rich mind mapping tool, considered one of the most comprehensive options available.

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Features:

  • Free accounts allow for seven private and an unlimited number of public maps.
  • Sharing and collaborative map editing.
  • Keyboard shortcuts for efficient operation.
  • Drag-and-drop interface for intuitive map creation.
  • Importing MindManager and FreeMind maps, and exporting to TXT, MMAP, RTF, PDF, JPG, GIF, and PNG formats.
  • Map printing functionality.

(6) Gliffy – A highly powerful, technically focused diagram creation and collaboration tool, capable of generating everything from basic flowcharts to detailed troubleshooting guides.

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Features:

  • Free accounts allow for three private and unlimited public diagrams.
  • Sharing and collaborative map editing.
  • Embedding maps on blogs, wikis, and other platforms.
  • Exporting maps as SVG (compatible with Microsoft Visio, Adobe Illustrator, and Macromedia FreeHand).
  • Interactive drag-and-drop interface.
  • Map printing functionality.
  • Map edit history for easy reversion to previous versions.
  • Keyboard shortcuts for efficient workflow.

[UPDATE] Additional resources contributed by Vic:

  • Bubble-Mind
  • Kayuda (more focused on concept mapping)
  • Mapul
  • Comapping (can be restrictive, enforcing a left-to-right mapping structure)
  • Webofweb (one of the oldest surviving platforms)
  • Glinky

For more general diagramming tools, consider:

  • FlowChart
  • CumulateLabs (Cumulate Draw)
#brainstorming tools#mind mapping software#idea generation#collaboration tools#creative thinking#problem solving