Variation on Mind Mapping, Part II

In this second of two posts, I review the Mindly app, a mind mapping tool based on a concentric circle design.

In Variation on Mind Mapping, Part I, I reviewed the Cell Storming app. It applies a honey-comb style of design to visual brainstorming and mind mapping activities. Mindly is another mind mapping app, and uses a series of concentric circles to arrange bits of information. The Mindly website describes Mindly as a planetary system with a central sun, series of planets, and orbiting moons around each planet. Ultimately, it is a hierarchical organizational system.

Mindly

Created maps and the option to create a new map are displayed on the home screen. After initiating a new map, you are prompted for the central idea or "sun," using the vernacular of Mindly. The central idea is set with a circle which displays four plus signs. You can add primary categories by clicking on the small plus signs. This same type of pattern continues throughout the multiple levels of organization.

Completed maps can be exported in Mindly format, a PDF, text outline, and image. Only the Mindly format and PDF are available in the free version.

Assessment

I like the idea of organizing in this format. Mindly provides the opportunity to display information visually in a new way. However, two details preclude me from downloading the full version.

First, I could not find an option to edit the font size. Like PowerPoint, Mindly's default appears to decrease the font size by organizational level. I would like to have the option to keep the font size the same throughout the map, and I would like to be able to increase the overall font size.

Second, the full version is $6.99. Given the lack of editing options, including no choices of image type on export, this is an app I will use sparingly, if at all.