Mapping Out Ideas for Student Design

Developing ideas for design projects can be complex with numerous parts and inputs. It can be a challenge for beginning design students. To help in this process, I am exploring the use of mind maps for gathering thoughts on a project before starting their sketches.

I used an example project for creating a logo for a business, in this case Bean Barn Coffee. To help students think about the subject they are designing for, a mind map is one potential way to gather their thoughts and put together areas of inspiration for the logo to represent. It can include numerous areas they might not think to explore about the business. A coffee shop is more than just its coffee.

In this example, I used SimpleMind, desktop version, to create the map. It has several features that make it great for students, first being that it is easy to start with a template and change the words and add/remove bubbles and links. It also allows for images and icons to be used for quick identification in the bubbles. Other features of use was the easy crosslinking, several different template options, easy export to PDF or PNG file.

A drawback is that it is not free for the full version. There is a free trial for the desktop version, and they have a free version for mobile apps for quick maps ideas. The mobile alone might be limiting a little.

While working with the program, I encountered very few issues. It was very intuitive to use. I did have to download the desktop version for this. The hardest part was evaluating which program to use when there are so many. This one seemed to offer good layout options for working with brainstorming for graphic design students. I think the ease of learning it becomes the biggest factor for student use I the classroom. They are inundated with different online apps, phone apps, and plug-ins for all different classroom activity, so this needs to be easy to learn.

I think it works well in this case.