Mappy Awards 2015: June ~ July ~ September
(Winners so far: Business / Education / Personal / General / English / Kids / Fun / Drawn)
(Click HERE for readable version)
Mad Mapper’s Muse: As the mysterious Mr. P reminds us, ‘the age old question of what are the differences between Management & Leadership has been explored by many‘. But probably not very often through a mind map, methinks.
Here he offers us an easily digestible summary of research findings on the topic. As he says, we all use aspects of both managing and leading, from our regular business activities right the way back to our home lives. According to Mike, understanding the key differences will help us to use the right skills in the right way at the right time.
His map is a beautifully designed tool which is highly engaging to look at and enlightening to read.
Hey, I think I just nailed what makes a great mind map for me in one line – cool!
Author’s Comment: Will the mysterious Mr. P please come forward and accept your award 🙂
Web Addresses: Biggerplate
Mad Mapper’s Muse: I was attracted to Alessio’s Forms of Energy map, as I often am, for its interesting topic and attractive, clear and colourful layout.
As far as I’m concerned, a mind map doesn’t have to contain the entire history of a subject on one A4 page; in very many cases less is, in fact, much more.
I like mind maps which take a clear, well-defined topic, and offer us the key points and a touch of detail with the minimum of fuss.
After that you can embellish them as much as you like, especially if they are for your own personal consumption. If they’re for others, though, I tend to err on the side of simplicity and let others enrich / complicate them if they wish.
Alessio’s created his Forms of Energy mind map as ‘a tool to help young learners to understand the different forms of energy and their relationships’. As such I think it succeeds admirably.
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Mind Maps ~ Alessios’s Blog
Mad Mapper’s Muse: Loved this one for a couple of pretty straightforward reasons you can probably guess:
1) Love time management techniques of all shades and silliness. Problem is, of course, I end up spending so much time playing with making the technique look pretty all over the place I don’t actually have any time left to get anything useful done…
2) Love what Hans has done here, a very inventive use of the flexible mind map format (thanks to, shh, you know who) to produce an original and eye-catching tool. Nice one.
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Hans Buskes ~ Master Mindmaps
Mad Mapper’s Muse: Jayne’s back after her triumph in the June awards in the business category!
This time I’ve chosen her ‘How To Mind Map’ offering for this month’s General section.
Now it’s true that the slightly narcissistic how-to-mind-map mind map is hardly a rare commodity – they’re everywhere, in fact. And very many good ones are indeed out there for us to enjoy and be reminded of ‘good practice’, as it were.
However, I haven’t included one here yet, so I chose Jayne’s piece as a great example of truly following all the ‘rules’ she comprehensively covers.
There is a sting in the tail though. It’s not about the mind map itself, as I’m sure it’s fine in its original version. BUT, and let this be a lesson to us all: check the final version very carefully! I pulled this one from the Biggerplate site and I’m sure it was produced automatically by some anonymous algorithm without intervention from human hand. But look what’s happened!
I count eight (8!) chopped words missing letters as well as two or three strangely disjointed others due to some unruly branch meandering. It’s happened to me too and has been extremely frustrating having published what I thought was the final version all over the place! Be careful 🙂
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Jayne’s Mind Maps ~ The Thinking Business
(Click HERE for readable version)
Mad Mapper’s Muse: This is actually one of Daniel’s least ‘mind-blowing’ mind maps, but I was practically obliged to choose it for this month’s English category winner.
Why? Because for some reason, in an area which should be literally bursting with creative ingeniositiness… it ain’t.
There seems to be something about language mind maps which makes their authors fill them with, well, words and nothing else. Not surprising, perhaps, but I can’t help feeling that so much more is possible. After all, as an English teacher myself, I don’t simply give my students two hours of vocabulary lists. Sigh.
What I like about Daniel’s Components of English map is that at last here is someone combining relevant images with clear explanations to teach us about six aspects of language with a minimum of fuss. Six simple branches, nothing too complicated, and above all, thankfully for a language mind map, not too many… words.
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Daniel Tay
Mad Mapper’s Muse: Back to ThinkBuzan this month with another cheerful idea for using mind maps in everyday life.
I’m sure many kids would enjoy summarising what they’ve been up to over the holidays for example, in a fun way, and sending it off to grandma who would be equally delighted to receive it.
It would not only stimulate their creative juices but also serve to reinforce memories and even help with spelling and logical associations and categorising. Everyone’s a winner!
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ ThinkBuzan ~ ThinkBuzan Gallery ~ iMindMap
Mad Mapper’s Muse: I thought I’d honour the mastermind behind Biggerplate, and I really do like this simple and fun map that encompasses the values of colour and originality in its design.
There are also some thought-provoking principles lying along the tentacles and it’s clear that Liam is following his own path with determination and all power to him with that – a man after my own heart.
In tribute to Liam, his Biggerplate initiative played a huge role in influencing me to get involved in mind mapping to the extent I have. All those lovely (and some not so lovely ? ) pieces of other people’s lives all laid out for our delectation, and for free into the bargain. Marvellous.
As Liam says, “This map is just a bit of fun, but hopefully gives you some sense of what Biggerplate is about, and what keeps us motivated and moving forward”. It certainly does, Liam, and personally I’d like to see far more maps with a bit of fun in them on Biggerplate, but that’s just me.
In any case, bravo to you, Liam, and you can count on me to continue to highlight and support your work for as long as I’m involved in the mad mad mad world of mind mapping. Keep up the good work, sir ?
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Biggerplate ~ Liam’s Maps ~ Facebook ~ LinkedIn
Mad Mapper’s Muse: This is a very beautifully drawn mind map about managing time. I don’t know the name of the person who did it, I hope to soon, but they are clearly a master of their art!
Some hand-drawn mind maps seem almost to perfect to be true… if it isn’t actually hand-drawn I’ll have to switch it over to another category, but for now I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt… and I’m jealous!
It’s actually extremely rich in its content, and I’m thinking that I’d like to read an explanatory article about it, like I do with my mind maps on this site, to get the most out of it. If there is one, dear author, do let me know and I’ll put a link to it here.
Author’s Comment: Thinking about it!
Web Addresses: Big Version ~ Mind Tools
If you’d like to join our friendly mind map discussion group on Facebook to learn more about mind mapping and submit your own creations, then you’re welcome!
Just click the button below and join up straight away – I look forward to meeting you there 😀
Thank you for your interest in the Mappy Awards, brought to you by Mind Map Mad, your one-stop mind mapping shop!
For more information about the Mappy Awards , including how to submit or suggest a mind map, go here.
We offer a wide range professional mind mapping courses and iMindMap software training for business, education and personal purposes. Discover all our mind map training here.
About Anything Else
Contact us directly here for specific enquiries. We look forward to helping you get mapping today!
© 2015 Sab Will / Mind Map Mad
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.