Let’s be honest—brainstorming can be a bummer.
We’ve all been in that chaotic session where ideas fly everywhere, nobody takes notes, and somehow everyone leaves more confused than when they walked in. It’s not that brainstorming is a bad idea—it’s just that bad brainstorming is all too common.
But here’s the good news: with the right structure, tools, and a little visual magic, brainstorming can actually rock.
When done right, visual brainstorming boosts collaboration, fuels creativity, and helps teams align around ideas faster. It makes thinking feel like play again—and yes, the results are way more actionable.
In this post, we’re breaking down how to ditch the mess and make visual brainstorming a tool that works for your team, whether you’re huddled in a conference room or connecting on screens across time zones.
What is Visual Brainstorming?
Visual brainstorming is the practice of generating, organizing, and expanding collective ideas through sketches, diagrams, and other visuals.
Instead of just talking through ideas or jotting bullet points on a whiteboard, participants use visual communication to map out thoughts, build on each other’s ideas, and connect the dots. The result? More creativity, more clarity, and more collaboration.
And it’s not just a “design” thing. Brainstorming with visuals works for strategists, analysts, engineers, marketers—anyone trying to solve problems, generate ideas, or think through complexity.
Why Brainstorming with Visuals Works
Did you know Pixar’s Toy Story was the result of a brainstorm? Woody’s character was not likable, and the team sat down to imagine one of the most beloved movies ever. Here’s why it gets results:
- It’s how the brain prefers to think: Dual Coding Theory tells us we retain more when we experience information both visually and verbally (Paivio, 1986). Translation: drawing while talking supercharges understanding.
- It creates shared understanding: Ever leave a meeting thinking one thing, while your colleague remembers it completely differently? Visuals reduce ambiguity. When you can literally see the idea, it’s easier to align on it.
- It sparks more creative thinking: Visual thinking helps people think laterally—exploring unexpected directions and making novel connections. Adding images, shapes, or sketches activates different parts of the brain compared to linear text-based thinking.
- It gets everyone involved: Drawing (yes, even stick figures) creates an atmosphere of play. It lowers the stakes, increases participation, and makes it easier for quieter voices to contribute.
Popular Brainstorming Methods
Looking to level up your next brainstorm? Here are some visual-first techniques that work for all types of teams:
- 🧠 Mind Mapping: Start with a central idea in the middle of the page, then radiate with branches and sub-ideas. This is a great way to explore multiple facets of a concept quickly.
- 🎞 Storyboarding: Perfect for planning processes, campaigns, or experiences. Sketch each key moment or step in a sequence to clarify the flow.
- ✍️ Sketching or Doodling: Don’t overthink it. Just start drawing. Even basic visuals—boxes, arrows, stick figures—can help express abstract ideas more clearly. (We have a course on The FUNdamentals of Sketchnotes. If it’s calling you, check it out!)
- 📸 Visual Metaphors: Use symbols or analogies to reframe a challenge. (“What would this problem look like if it were a factory?”) This helps unlock new perspectives.
- 🖼 Templates & Canvases: Frameworks like empathy maps, customer journey maps, or business model canvases help guide teams through structured visual conversations.
Facilitating Brainstorming Sessions
You don’t need to be a designer or an artist to run a visual brainstorm. You just need a few key principles:
- Set the tone: Make it safe to sketch, scribble, and share. Let everyone know it’s not about art—it’s about ideas.
- Start with a prompt: Give your team a simple visual exercise: “Draw our customer journey,” or “Sketch the current workflow.” Prompts help people get started. (More on ice-breaking prompts down the blog).
- Make space to share: After each round, encourage participants to show and explain their visuals. You’ll be surprised how often one person’s sketch unlocks someone else’s insight.
- Use the wall: Whether digital or physical, make sure the team can see each other’s ideas. When visuals are visible, people build off each other’s thinking more easily.
Afraid No One Will Chip In? Here are Some Infallible Icebreakers
Brainstorming works best when people in the room feel comfortable sharing—and that doesn’t happen by accident. If your team’s creative spark is flickering (or worse, fizzled), these brainstorming techniques can help break the ice, flatten hierarchies, and invite fresh perspectives into the mix:
- Figure Storming: Sometimes it’s hard to share for your own. So why not share ideas as if you were somewhere else? Pick a famous figure—your CEO, Beyoncé, Einstein, or even your favorite fictional character—and ask, “What would they do?” Thinking through someone else’s lens helps teams break out of the same-old mindset and opens the door to fresh insights.
- Brainwriting: Not everyone loves speaking up, and that’s okay. With brainwriting, participants can sketch ideas anonymously before sharing. It levels the playing field, prevents groupthink, and ensures everyone’s ideas are considered—without the pressure of drawing them out in the open.
- Rapid Ideation: Give your team a time crunch (think: 5–10 minutes), and have them doodle every idea that comes to mind—no matter how wild. Speed kills self-censorship, and even the “bad” ideas can spark brilliant solutions.
- Starbursting: Before solving a problem, make sure you understand it. This method has your team generate as many questions as possible—who, what, where, when, why, and how—before jumping to markers and colors. It’s a great way to dig deeper before sketching solutions.
- Reverse Brainstorming: Instead of asking, “How can we solve this problem?” ask, “How could we make it worse?” You’ll be surprised how often that unlocks helpful insights. Once you’ve listed ways to cause chaos, reverse-engineer the path to a solution.
- Round Robin: Each person takes turns drawing an idea before open discussion begins. No interruptions, no overtalking. It’s perfect for quieter team members or new hires who might need a little structure to find their voice.
Tools for Digital Visual Brainstorming
Remote team? Virtual event? No problem. There are plenty of tools that make brainstorming sessions easy, even from across the globe:
- ✅ Miro: A digital whiteboard platform built for visual collaboration. Use sticky notes, templates, and freehand drawing to get ideas flowing.
- ✅ Mural: Similar to Miro, with a strong focus on workshops and design thinking. Great for interactive sessions and large teams.
- ✅ FigJam: From the makers of Figma, this browser-based whiteboard is intuitive and fun to use—ideal for fast-moving teams.
- ✅ Zoom + Tablet Combo: Sometimes, the simplest solution is a tablet + screen share. Apps like Procreate, Goodnotes, or Concepts can turn your iPad into a drawing board for real-time collaboration.
Think Better, Together
Visual brainstorming isn’t about making pretty drawings. It’s about making ideas tangible, visible, and shared.
Whether you’re solving complex challenges, aligning cross-functional teams, or trying to unlock new thinking, putting your ideas on the page—visually—helps you get there faster.
So next time you’re stuck in a circular discussion or staring at a blank whiteboard, grab a pen (or stylus) and sketch it out. Your best ideas might be just a doodle away.
Let Us Do the Heavy Lifting
Suppose you’re planning a special event, C-suite presentation, or workshop. In that case, we offer interactive visual solutions (such as graphic recording) that spark creativity and energize collaboration without the sticky-note chaos.
👉 Let’s chat about how we can make your next event more memorable, visual, and productive.
