Getting started with Mind Maps

With Mind Mapping, Ayoa is supporting your project life cycle from the very beginning. Although meeting your end goals is important, how you go about creating your goals in the first place is key. 

The opportunity to collaborate on mind maps in real-time, ensures no ideas, big or small, are missed and can be developed to their fullest potential before being actioned into tasks. Idea generation is at the tip of your fingers, whether you're working together in a meeting or remotely half way across the world from your colleagues. 

With a sleek and professional interface, Mind Mapping is quick and easy to use. 

To create a New Mind Map:

1.  Go to the Home Page and click 'Create New' then choose 'Mind Map'

2. Choose the style you would like to start your map:

•  The Speed Map style is a professional-looking and designed to get the information down fast. 
• The Organic mind map style allows for more creative maps in a hand-drawn style 
• The Radial Map shows your branches in adjustable segments. 
• The Capture Maps show branches as floating bubbles, great for quickly getting ideas down in a less structured way.
• Th AI map uses artificial intelligence engine for creating map with branches on your chosen subject. 

3. To create a mind map from scratch, click 'Create blank map', in your preferred style.

Alternatively, choose from one of our pre-made templates. These automatically created in specific styles but once opened you can switch the style at any time.

4.  A pop-up window will appear for you to enter the name of your map. This will become your central idea.

You can invite other people to your map later on. To learn more about inviting members to your maps, go to Inviting Members.

There is also an option to add a short description.

5.  You will then be taken to your brand new mind map with the central idea editor appearing in the middle of the screen. You can edit the shape and color of the central idea, choosing to add an image if you wish.

 

6.  Click on the different shapes to change the design of the central idea and click on the color box to open the color swatch. 

 

7.  To add an image to the central idea click on 'Add Image'. You can either upload your own image file or click 'Search web' to search and add a royalty-free image. 

 

8. As well as being able to add your own image, we have a selection of illustrated central ideas for you to choose from called stickers. Click on the 'Stickers ' tab to view these. 

9. Click on your chosen sticker, then when you are happy with your choice click 'Create Central Idea'.

 

10. The name of your map does not have to match the title of your central idea, so feel free to change this. To change the central idea text, double click on the text to bring up the text editor. 

 

11. The text editor will allow you to change the color, size, alignment, and styling of the text. Highlight the text to change specific sections. To make a line break hold SHIFT and Enter on the keyboard. 

 

The Central Idea:

Your central idea represents the topic that your map is going to cover. This is the starting point for your ideas to grow out of. Within Ayoa, you can adjust the size and shape of your central idea to focus your attention on the subject matter. Adding an image reflective of your topic will encourage you to find further associations for you to add to your map. In Ayoa, you can even hide the text on your central idea to let the image take center stage on your canvas.

The Branches

The ideas that you add to your map are called Branches. The main branches that grow from your central idea will highlight the key areas of your topic and you can then add child branches to these for further detail. More branches will grow from each other as they trigger other thoughts. With an unlimited canvas in Ayoa, you can add as many branches as you like, allowing you to fully explore your ideas. Click the links to learn more about adding organic or speed branches to your mind map.

• If you enjoy the process of drawing mind maps, Ayoa lets you drag and drop branches onto your canvas into a space that you choose.
• Alternatively, use your arrow keys and hit Tab to speedily create multiple branches. When you make a branch and hit Enter, Ayoa will automatically prepare the next sibling branch for you. 

Formatting and Color

Adding color to your mind map enhances your work by linking the logical with the creative. Using color, you can highlight and categorize information in your map more effectively, allowing you to analyse, memorize and learn content. The more visually exciting a platform is, the more motivated and engaged you will be in your day to day work. Click the links to find out more about formatting your organic or speed map branches. 

• Ayoa has a varied color palette - ideal for creating both professional and creative mind maps. Find these formatting options by clicking the paintbrush tab in the branch menu.

• Outline your branches in color to differentiate between areas whilst keeping a clear and simplistic appearance. 

• Fill your branches in with block or gradient colors to inject a little more fun into your map. 

• Use the branch editor to your advantage - fill branches in, increase the size and change the connector style to draw attention to important ideas. 

 

You can access the formatting options through either the toolbar

 

Or you can open the quick access menu by right clicking on the branch you want to edit.

 

Images

Images are powerful because they instantly convey messages, in a way that words do not. Acting as visual stimuli, they can spark numerous associations to help you create ideas and recall information. Within Ayoa, there are a few different ways you can add images to make your map more visually exciting. Click on the link to find out more about adding images.

• Add images to your branches to clearly represent key themes and spark further ideas. 

• You can also add emojis reactions to your text in branches.

• ‘Showing creators’ will add an image of that person’s avatar to each branch so you instantly know who has created what, helping you to remember your colleague's contributions.