Mind Mapping for Web Design Works Great
I started playing with Mind Maps a few years ago but really thought nothing about it . I used it a few months ago as a brainstorming tool for an internal project.
It proved to be such a great reference asset that we added it to our arsenal of tools when working with our clients websites.If you haven't used Mind Map software before it basically is a node based visual schematic builder. Mind Maps allow users to quickly and easily put together a tree based node structure and show a hierarchy of Ideas, Objects, Options, Processes and just about anything else you can think of. Nodes can be titled color coded and referenced. Most Mind Map software allows you to expand and contract different child node trees with their parents and branching nodes.
When brainstorming GotWebDesigners.com I used it for a broad range of concepts having to do with the project this way I could give a full presentation on the scope of the work. This became extremely helpful when trying to communicate the functionality of the website and it's information architecture. When the project got cold after getting swamped with work it made it so much easier to reference and jump back into later that year. I can't tell you how much time it saved us when everyone had to get on the same page again.
Now when meeting with a web design client or our web team it was a snap to thow it onto a big screen, Ipad or desktop for a highly productive presentation or reference. Mind Maps can be edited very easily in real time so nodes can be edited and even entire trees moved and relocated just by dragging the parent on another parent.
There are many different Mind Map extensions available, most of them follow the .mm extension so you can open them between platforms. I really like myMindMap Grande available in the app store for the Ipad. It is extremely interactive and has many features to play with. There are a few free versions on the web just Google it to learn more.
Mind Maps can obviously be used for just about anything, if you have not added it to your library of useful tools yet I highly suggest giving them a try.
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