App of the week: Mindmeister makes mind mapping easy (er)

January 25, 2021 Luisa Rey

Mind mapping on paper is so old-fashioned and is also a bit difficult if you want to fill in the mind map with others remotely. Mindmeister says it has the perfect solution for this and has given the old-fashioned paper mind maps a new look. What the app has to offer? You can read it in the ‘App of the Week’.

Mindmeister

Paper is so old-fashioned – at least that’s my opinion. I regularly work on mind maps and nothing is more annoying than trying to put all the ideas from such meetings into a well-organized mind map, so that you can read it later. Tools such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop can be used to create mind maps, but it is not very easy. Mindmeister, however, puts the creation of a mind map into ‘next gear’. Once you use it, you can’t live without it.

Before you start using Mindmeister, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, it is mandatory to create a Mindmeister account: with the account, the mind maps can be viewed everywhere, you don’t have to manually transfer them from your phone to your computer, or vice versa. Another thing to keep in mind is that this tool is only free to use to a limited extent. Mindmeister has three subscription options:

Basic (free): Mindmeister’s basic plan lets you create up to three mind maps and gives you access to the basic functions – adding icons, taking notes, and playing the Mindmeister presentation.

Personal (paid): in the personal plan you get all the basic functions and one can create new mind maps without restrictions. Furthermore, images can be added in a mind map and maps can be exported in PDF or PNG format.

Pro (paid): Finally, there is the Pro subscription, for which all functions previously available with Basic and Personal are also available to Pro customers. Furthermore, mind maps within this subscription can be exported as Word and PowerPoint files from this tool.

Collaborate

Once you have chosen a plan, you can get started with the application. For the Mindmeister app, you arrive at the screen with the ‘recent’ mind maps. If you haven’t created a mind map yet, you can click the + icon at the bottom of the app to create a new mind map. You will first be asked to fill the middle part of your Mindmap with, for example, a HQ question. From that moment on you can keep clicking on the + icon to add a new part to the mind map.

App of the week: Mindmeister makes mind mapping easy (er)

By default, the mind map colors are set to blue. Fortunately, in the Mindmeister app you can adapt the necessary to the mind map. For example, you can adjust the color of the text that is displayed, as well as the color of the blocks in which the text is placed. To access those options, click the paintbrush icon in the bottom bar. In this section you can also customize the theme of the mind map and you can do the ‘tuning’ of the map.

Next to this icon you will see an images icon that allows you to add images to the mind map – mind you, that function is only available in the Personal or Pro subscription. At the top you will also find an icon to add people so that you can work on the mind map together. That way, these types of apps are also very useful during joint sessions with colleagues or even with your family. Finally, you can use the three dots at the top left to export the mind map (if your subscription allows it), you can copy a link that leads to the mind map and finally mind maps can be publicly published in a Mindmeister catalog.

Automatically saved

Another useful thing to know is that Mindmeister automatically saves your mind maps. If you lose your internet connection, the data will be saved. All in all, Mindmeister is a very handy app to get through the corona time. As indicated earlier, Mindmeister is free to use. You can download the app for both Android and iOS, and there is also a browser variant – so you can use Mindmeister on Windows, Mac OS and Linux too.