Mind maps that keep their own shape.

A node stores which branch it belongs to, and the board works out where it goes — so adding a thought never means tidying up after it.

lantern coffee · fall menu · ideas
Fall menuDrinksFoodEventsMerchPumpkin LatteMaple Oat LatteChaiApple cinnamon rollButter CroissantPumpkin breadLatte art nightTasting SaturdayLantern mugTote bag

Add a thought; the branch makes room.

On a freeform board a mind map is fine for eleven nodes and unusable at forty: every new thought pushes a branch into another one. Here the layout is worked out from the tree and recomputed as it grows, so a new node opens space for itself and nobody stops the session to move boxes.

Every mind map figure, named ↓

lantern coffee · fall menu · ideas
DrinksPumpkin LatteMaple Oat LatteSpiced cold brewnewChaimoved down

A branch opens its own board.

When a branch outgrows the map, give it a board of its own. Drinks carries a green dot: under it is the tasting board, where each idea gets a photo and the notes from Saturday's tasting, while the map stays small enough to read.

Read more: Boards that open boards →

ideas
Drinks1
ideas › drinks · tasting
Pumpkin LatteLess syrup, more spice. Keep the cinnamon on top.
Maple Oat LatteEveryone's second choice. Try with a double shot.
no photo yet
ChaiToo sweet as it is. Taste again on Saturday.

A node stores its branch, not its place.

A node keeps which branch it belongs to as a field, and its position is worked out from that. Drag Pumpkin Latte onto Food and the field says Food; the map redraws around it. Drag it off the tree and it is a loose figure again.

Read more: Fields: typed in or counted →

lantern coffee · objects · pumpkin latte
Pumpkin LatteMind node
branchDrinks ›
mapFall menu ›
positionworked out
drag onto another branch
DrinksFoodButter CroissantApple cinnamon rollPumpkin LattePumpkin Lattebranch = Food

Every figure, named.

The toolbar's own names — what you pick is what this list says: two groups, 10 figures.

Mind map5

Beside the map5