Create Flowchart Magic with Whimsical
A product review of Whimsical, web-based visualization application.
Visual communication is one of the most effective ways to convey a message. Symbols and images can easily replace the need for wordy presentation slides. A diagram can distill a complicated relationship or series of actions into bite-size, digestible portions. In my office, I’ve become known for sequestering whiteboards, chart paper, sticky notes — anything I can get my hands on to map out and organize my thoughts. This process of streamlining information and finding its hidden simplicity is a joy like no other. Recreating my visual masterpieces however, not so much.
The duplicative time it took to digitize my whiteboard flowcharts was excruciating and cell phone snapshots of my precious diagrams never felt polished enough for presentations. This was until I found Whimsical. Whimsical is a visual workspace perfect gateway for anyone looking to upgrade their information visualization skills or transfer their whiteboard ideas into a digital, sharable format. As a free flowchart program, its features are truly unparalleled. With just a few clicks you can create flowchart magic in the time it takes you to read this blog.
Where Whimsical Excels
Zero Learning Curve
Whimsical has a lot to offer users of varying degrees in skill. Its best feature is how easy it is to learn. With intuitive, contextual toolbars it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. Additionally, the paired down formatting choices gives you exactly what is necessary to design efficiently and with speed.
Searchable Icons
Iconography is essential for data visualization. It’s also the hardest part of the whole process. Finding icons that express what you need with consistent visual styles is a challenge at best. Whimsical solves this burden with a sizable library of icons, all styled and ready for immediate use. Can’t find what you’re looking for? You can upload your own icons too.
Lightening Speed Export
Exporting your diagrams is incredibly simple. Highlight what you want to export, choose if you want a transparent background (or not), and you’re done. The resolution is crystal clear and the .png format makes it perfect for popping into documents and emails.
Where Whimsical Falls Short
No rulers or guides
Particularly for wireframes, not having the ability to set a grid lines makes consistent sizing and spacing nearly impossible. While objects do snap to a grid, it’s not nearly as precise as it needs to be. For lo-fi sketches you can get away with this, but for anything meant to be prescriptive for design and coding, I’m skeptical. And that might be the point Whimsical is trying to make, but I won’t be ditching Sketch any time soon.
Limited Text and Line Weights
Fanciful text formatting and line art isn’t what wireframes are meant to convey, and Whimsical makes a pretty good argument about their choice to have a very intentional, and limited, selection of formatting options. However, the difference between the thin and thick line weights is way too dramatic and sometimes an underline is necessary to emphasize a point.
No Pre-Loaded Templates
While Flowcharts and Sticky Notes lend themselves well to customized usage, having an infinite workspace can be quite daunting. Those less familiar with this visualization practices may need guidance for applying these workspaces to their needs. A similarly agile product AirTable provides loads of templates for practical uses for their spreadsheet tool. While Whimsical has started a library of these, there is definitely more inspiration to be shared. Here are some of my ideas for starters.
Use Cases for Whimsical Flowcharts
The flowchart workspace is by far my most used workspace in Whimsical. As an operations specialist I am constantly defining and evolving processes for my team.
- Organizational Charts: Fast to create and easy to edit as teams evolve, this is the use case I most share with members of my team.
- Workflows Processes: The searchable icon library is especially appreciated for creating concise, and intuitive diagrams.
- Infographics: Create basic infographics for training materials or presentation visuals.
Use Cases for Whimsical Wireframes
Anyone can create a lo-fi sketch with the wireframes workspace whether you’re an out-right designer or an account manager trying to visual a concept to a client.
- Lo-Fi Wireframes: With preset device screens and all the buttons and fields you could ever need, Whimsical removes the barrier to entry for wireframing. I wish I knew about this product when I was creating my mobile app concept!
- UX Journey: For clients that are highly visual, I find that drawing a user journey out is much more effective than trying to type it out in prose.
- Mind Mapping: Whimsical already has a dedicated mind map workspace in development but don’t let that hold you back from making one now. After leading a corporate values exercise with my company, I was able to map all our roll out ideas to multiple values and illustrate their relationships with each other.
Use Cases for Whimsical Sticky Notes
While the sticky notes workspace is the least explored option for me, I do see great potential for visual project management support with custom Kanban boards and to-do reminders. If nothing else, this is a great way to keep my post-its organized and easily accessible so I don’t have to hunt for them on my desk.
- Affinity Mapping: Easily distill your next ideation session down into an affinity map to identify common themes; great for personas, naming, and value mapping.
- Power Ranking: With your affinity, you can use the voting feature to rank ideas for efficient iteration and discussion.
Finding Magic At My Fingertips
Whimsical has been a game changer for me. More so than not, I turn to Whimsical as the starting point for my flowcharts. Having practiced this habit enough, I have been able to adjust to brainstorming in a digital workspace as opposed to being so reliant on the physical pen to paper (or whiteboard). While Whimsical may not be a complete replacement for more mainstream wireframing programs it certainly make a case for itself, which lots of potential to evolve. More than that, Whimsical has clearly been very thoughtful about the features it’s bringing to market and does an excellent job of highlighting their unique perspective in their blog, a great read if you’re on the fence. As my fandom for this application continues to grow, it’s fast becoming the secret sauce in my presentations and project documentation.
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This article was originally published on stephaniefois.com on January 30, 2019.
