Create Better Mind Maps for Free

Brainstorm new ideas, strategize business growth and improve project management processes with Venngage's mind map examples and templates.

Over 40,000 businesses use and trust Venngage for mind mapping business processes.

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Project Management Mind Mapping

What is mind mapping?

A mind map helps businesses visualize and analyze information. It's a great tool to understand different aspects of one core idea. But mind mapping is also essential for teams trying to generate ideas and brainstorm. Here are a few ways to use mind mapping for your business.

  • Managers can use mind mapping to generate creative ideas. Human beings are visual, which is why a mind map is a better way to brainstorm than writing a list or paragraph of ideas. You can use a mind map to find relationships between different points.
  • Executives can organize their team using a mind map. Make your organizational chart stand out by using a mind map. Businesses can also use mental maps for several HR processes like performance evaluation and staffing plans.
  • Businesses can visualize research and complex ideas with a mental map. A concept map is a great way to consolidate research or understand the scope of research required to plan projects.

You don't have to spend hours designing a mind map. With the Venngage Mind Map Maker, you can simply drag and drop your design elements. The Smart mind mapping templates make it easy to add, duplicate or remove items, including icons, text, colors, and size, with just one click.

What makes a good mind map?

A mind map design is successful when you know what information to visualize. You also need to know the purpose of the mind map. Is it for building business strategies? Or is it needed to brainstorm online with your remote team? Once you know this, you can make your own edits to the design.

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Good mental map examples include a central idea. When you build a mind map using online mind mapping software, you start with a core concept and branch out from there. Venngage visualizes the central idea and the branches using visual tools that are customizable.

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Mind maps branch into multiple topics. Every idea has subparts and topics. These are the branches of the mind map that go in-depth into a topic. If your mind map is about business strategy, the branches will focus on the elements that make a strategy successful.

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A mind map breaks down subtopics. Once you build the branches, mind mapping then delves further into the subtopics of your core concept. This is where you can get really granular. These subtopics can also lead to actionable points for a business team to follow.

Designing a clear and concise mind map doesn't have to be challenging. With the Venngage Mind Map Maker, you can start with mental map examples for a variety of business uses. The Smart editor helps you put your infinite canvas of business ideas into a visual that everyone can understand.

How can you create a mind map for free?

Creating a mind map can seem like a difficult task, but not when you have an online mind mapping tool such as Venngage. Choose from numerous templates for a variety of business and marketing uses. With the one-of-a-kind Smart Features, you can add shapes, branches, text, and icons to a mind map with a single click. Here's how to design a mind map.

  • Choose a mind map template. Define your single idea before you start designing. Pick a template that will visualize the ideas and start editing according to your needs. Depending on whether you are mind mapping for note-taking, brainstorming, or sharing related ideas with your team, mind mapping helps align your business strategy.
  • Customize your mind map template. Use Venngage's Smart Features to build out your mind map. Add branches, lines and create links between different elements, all with a single click. The Smart Mind Map tool is intuitive and easy to use in the drag-and-drop editor.
  • Add visual elements to your mind map. Add icons and images to your mind map to better visualize your ideas. You can input your brand logo, colors, and fonts using Venngage's My Brand Kit feature, available with a Venngage Business account.

How do you create mind maps with Venngage?

Share your completed brainstorming mind map online for free, or upgrade to a Venngage Business account to download it as PNG, HD PNG, PDF, Interactive PDF, and as a PowerPoint presentation.

The Venngage mind map library has templates for every business need. Venngage offers free accounts that give you access to a host of templates to visualize strategies, ideas, and plans.

The simple drag-and-drop editor is easy to use. And the latest Smart Features make designing a breeze. Click on the buttons beside your chosen shape and customize the text, icons, and size of the mind map.

The Venngage editor includes numerous font styles, free stock photos, the ability to upload your own images, 40,000+ icons, as well as real-time collaboration, so you can create a comprehensive mind map for your business.

What types of mind maps does Venngage offer?

Customize Venngage mind map templates for strategizing business growth, sharing ideas with your team, or planning a project:

Simple mind map templates

Business mind maps

Start with a simple collaborative mind map so your team can see the big picture in small actionable pieces.

Plan your business from the ground up with a Venngage mind map and define internal and external processes.

Strategy mind maps

Marketing mind maps

With Venngage, you can strategize how your business communicates, thinks, plans, and markets itself to customers.

Create impactful visuals to share on social media and in email campaigns with a Venngage marketing mind map.

Concept mind map

Project planning mind maps

Conceptualize ideas with color-coding and icons so that your team or students can understand complex systems clearly.

Plan and organize a project that aligns your team members. Add shapes and lines to the map for different activities.

Customer journey mind maps

HR mind maps

Keep your internal teams aligned and make new hires comfortable in their work environment with visuals that other mind mapping tools don't offer

Visualize a customer journey and share notes with team members to better retain customers with Venngage templates.

Time management mind maps

Venngage offers a variety of time management templates that will help a business stay organized.

With Venngage’s customizable templates, branding options, free photos, and icons, businesses can use mind mapping to improve their creativity.

FAQs about mind map examples

How do you write a mind map?

Start with one primary idea and then use a canvas or template to capture and organize your thoughts around it. Spend some time researching the idea. Link different parts of the idea to each other using colors, lines, or a suitable image.


Use software like Venngage that offers pre-designed templates. This will make it easy to design a mind map. Sign up for a free Venngage account, pick a template for your idea start editing. Share your ideas online, on social media, or download them by upgrading to a Venngage Business plan.

Can you create a mind map in Microsoft Word?

Mind mapping helps with brainstorming new ideas. You can also boost your creativity and better organize yourself. There's plenty of room to create bad visualizations, which have more to do with choosing the wrong software. While you can use Microsoft Word to visualize concepts, mind mappers prefer better solutions. Word requires a lot of manual labor for creating designs.


It's better to use the dedicated Venngage Mind Map Maker that offers free templates that are easy to use and customize. With a Business plan, you can save your templates for future use, and download them in a variety of formats, including PNG, PNG HD, PDF, Interactive PDF, and present them in PowerPoint.

How do you design a mind map online?

There are online tools for mind mapping but most require additional effort to make them look good. Venngage offers a variety of free and Smart templates that are easy to customize for your mind mapping needs.


The Venngage drag-and-drop editor is simple to use. Pick a template of your choice and make edits to your design with a single click with the Smart Features.


The free icon and image library help users visualize information for every type of audience.With a Venngage Business plan, users can access the My Brand Kit feature to add brand logos, colors, and fonts. You can also unlock real-time team collaboration, including the ability to add comments, and 24/7 priority support.

With Venngage Mind Map Maker, you can plan and present ideas, brainstorm with teams, and build strategies that help your business grow.

Now you know the essentials of making a mind map. Start designing a beautiful mental map with Venngage!

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