Mind or Concept Mapping: Differences and Similarities

Click on the map to see the original on Flickr

Concept mapping and mind mapping are powerful graphic organizers, strategies for organizing and representing knowledge. They were developed during the seventies.

The terms may seem to be interchangeable, but there are some differences in the way they are created and used. 

On the map above we can see some key differences and similarities between these two techniques.  

In my Opinion, Concept Mapping is rather leveraging logical thinking while Mind Mapping improves the balance between creativity and logical thinking. 

Both techniques are complementary and help you to develop various skills such as identification of key concepts, pattern recognition, ideas organization, context understanding, etc...  Both techniques belongs to the field of Visual Mapping.

In the video below, Karen Rohrbauck Stout at Western Washington University explains how she uses concept mapping as an assessment technique.

Creative Mappings

It is a story of connection between different universes in which I ‘m living in with pleasure:

As a Visual Mapping Trainer in business where I meet many people with whom I share the potential of these techniques to advance projects, promote exchange, visualize a strategy, etc.

My work as a painter ,for many years ,where I make my own images. Painting is a a form of emotional mapping ,isn’t it ?


My experience as a Manager in international companies in which I am able to measure the benefits of Visual thinking .

I like to propose my personal world when I paint, I like to organize it it when I draw Mindmaps, and I always try as manager to find what could improve business life…why not connect everything!

Since a few months, I’m working on the connection between these three parameters.One of my friend said that we could name it “ Creative Mappings”. I want to keep the structure of a mindmap but I also want to add my creativity and some ideas (keywords) of the subject that I am dealing with. Most of the subjets talk about Management and Visual Mapping themes.

Today I want to share this experience with a map called “Visual is the’ future” in which I resume my way some benefits of Visual thinking.

Purists will wonder whether it is many a Mindmap or not , I confess that I wanted to draw it with the same organization, the same rigour but i can imagine the “personal” aspect may disrupt the dogmatic reader.

Others will see a walk around the Mind Mapping possibilities and I hope that they will appreciate the content and form….

Live Mind Mapping at Ketchum's Innovation Day in Madrid

Two weeks ago we took part in an interesting event in Madrid: Ketchum's Spain Innovation Day. During the event we created a mindmap using Mindjet 2012, in order to summarize the key information into a one page view.
The mindmap, in Spanish, as shown bellow, was sent to all the attendees after the event.

Click on the mindmap to enlarge it

Ketchum Spain is  is a top-three full-service public relations agency. It offer a full range of services, including digital media, mobile marketing, editorial services, training and event planning.

For this event, Ketchum invited Alfons Cornella, a famous Innovation Thinker based in Barcelona and founder of Infonomia, one of the most important Innovation Networks in Spain.

The subject of the event was "Co-Society": the future is collaboration, co-creation, coordination, and combining skills to generate hybrid projects.
New products and new services will emerge and stimulate a fresh force of economic energy.

5 books on Innovation and Visual Thinking

Here is a small selection of 5 excellent books that we use at Conectivitiz for fostering Visual Thinking and Innovation.

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers   By Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo

Gamestorming provides a useful blend of theory, tools, and techniques that anybody tasked with collective problem solving can adopt. This books gives us many great ideas to trigger our creativity while bonding staff members through teamwork

Visual Meetings: How Graphics, Sticky Notes and Idea Mapping Can Transform Group Productivity  By David Sibbett

Written by the father of Graphic Facilitation, this book explains how anyone can implement powerful visual tools, and how these tools are being used in Silicon Valley and elsewhere to facilitate both face-to-face and virtual group work.

This dynamic and richly illustrated resource gives meeting leaders, presenters, and consultants a slew of exciting tricks and tools.

Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur

Addressed to new-comers to the business world as well as established business-owners this book is for anyone who is looking for an unorthodox approach to business modelling.

This book introduces a useful new modelling concept: the Business Model Canvas. The main advantage to this approach is that the key elements of the organisation’s business are displayed on one page. Printed as a poster-size template, there is plenty of whitespace to write, doodle or use sticky notes.

Beyond Words : A Guide to Drawing Out ideas by Milly R. Sonneman

This  book will give you the confidence to make your own drawings and basic diagrams on any whiteboard or paper easel. Connect words, ideas, and your audience with easy to draw colorful pictograms of your ideas.
Milly Sonneman takes you through initially simple and then progressively more advanced steps that can teach any person how to make compelling drawings that will clarify ideas and make them more interesting. 

The Sketchnote Handbook: the illustrated guide to visual note taking by Mike Rohde

Sketchnotes are drawings that you sketch freehand as you listen to a lecture or talk. They are ways to draw concepts and ideas with objects and figures.The Sketchnote Handbook  is an excellent resource on visual language and presents a unique way to take notes and focusing on the big picture.

Some Inspiring Visual Notes

Browsing the Web, I came across this fascinating visual notes on Slideshare, about an Edward Tufte's presentation.
This notes are very creatives and give us a lot of good ideas, especially useful for improving our sketchnoting skills.

Tufte From Mc Garrah Jesee from Dave_Holloway

About Sketch Noting, I also discovered another interesting skecthnotes from Sacha Chua who atended a  Lean Startup Meeting on December 2012 and took the following notes:

Sketchnotes: Lean Startup Day, Dec 3, 2012 from Sacha Chua

A major event for the Mind Mapping Community

Biggerplate Unplugged London is an event organized by Biggerplate, the largest free mind map library with hundreds of free templates for various quality Mind Mapping Softwares such as Mindjet, XMind, iMindmap, Concept Draw and MindGeniu, . It will take place inLondon on thursday january 31st.

This event will bring together mind mapping software users, developers, bloggers and trainers to explore trends and innovations in the world of mind mapping. The attendees will be able to liste to expert speakers, join in roundtable discussions, or even put themrself forward for a ‘lightning session’ – these are lively, interactive, and engaging events that provide a unique opportunity to turn online connections into real world collaboration, and a chance to explore and shape the future of mind mapping.

Click here for more informations.

Beyond the online Community of Mind Mappers, such an event was necessary for making the Mind Mapping Community a tangible thing.