What’s a good mind map?
Hi there!
I originally posted this entry as a comment, but it’s been pending approval, and I don’t know how long it’s going to take for it to show up. So, unfortunately, this post will show up twice on this blog.
I’ve come to post an answer to one of Week 9’s discussion questions: “What makes a good mind map?”
To me, a good mind map allows the reader to both see the big picture and focus on details with relative ease. It facilitates comprehension and retention of information and indicates clear links between ideas. It groups bits of information into manageable chunks – neither scattered bits of data, nor long rambling paragraphs. A good mind map is well-structured. If, by contrast, it is overwhelming and distracting, the reader might actually experience a temporary drop in IQ (Visocky O’Grady & Visocky O’Grady, 2008). Sometimes a written report or a PPT presentation is more effective than a mind map for communicating information, so the content and the format need to be matched properly.
Here’s a blog entry that explains map shock, which is a term to describe the sense of visual information overload:
http://blog.modellearning.com/blog/2011/4/25/map-shock.html
Here’s a blog entry about designing effective visual graphics:
http://www.johnrandle.co.uk/graphic-design/information-design/
Here are a variety of very effective infographics that you can select from the roll-down menu at the top right, where it says “Select Visualization”. Note that some examples are interactive.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-hierarchy-of-digital-distractions/
Visocky O’Grady J. & Visocky O’Grady K. (2008) The information design handbook. Cincinatti, OH: HOW Books.
Cheers,
D
Leonora Zefi 5:10 pm on July 7, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Danielle,
Thank you for the very interesting sites on map shock and graphic design. I had never heard of the term “map shock” but I have surely experienced it in a number of cases 🙂
While I can see how the ideas flow and sometimes it’s a challenge to stop the process, I agree with your description of a good as being able to interpret with “relative ease” and “clear links between ideas”.
Thanks.
Leonora