Visual collaboration is the process of enabling people in different locations to work together through online face-to-face interaction. These collaborative tools make it possible for users at different locations to share workspace, communicate with pictures and voice, and work simultaneously with others on a single project. Visual collaboration helps drive innovation by providing a means for participants across organizations to better understand each other’s work, to clarify their own thinking around complex problems, and to elaborate mutually generated ideas into executable assets that are easily communicated across coordination boundaries
Visual collaboration tools are computer applications that users use to communicate, cooperate, and share information in real time. To collaborate means to work together to achieve a common goal, product, or solution. Visual collaboration is the same idea except it uses graphical aids, such as video conferencing, to aid in the work.
Best Visual Collaboration App
Visual collaboration apps are growing in popularity, and our two favorites are Editors’ Choice winner Miro and close runner-up Mural.
Both take the form of a digital whiteboard or canvas that multiple people join simultaneously. They have tools for drawing, posting sticky notes with text, uploading files and images, embedding videos, and adding other kinds of content to the board. Miro offers video calling, so you can chat with colleagues while simultaneously brainstorming and working on visual projects. Mural purposely offers only audio calls—the idea is to keep the visual focus on the board.
Miro and Mural both include a healthy stock of templates. Mural’s library includes many templates used for team building and group icebreakers. They work almost like tabletop games. Miro offers more in the way of library objects and templates for making charts, diagrams, and other visual aids that you can reuse in other business materials, such as presentations.
Mural has templates for team building exercises.
Mural
Mural is like a digital white board. It allows designers to post sticky notes, images, and videos on a wall in order to gather quick feedback about a specific idea, design, or prototype.
It allows you to seamlessly work within the same space, an analogue to having the entire team in the same room with access to the same whiteboard.
Keep your collaborators in the loop with comments and live conversations no matter where you may be.
Cage
Designed for smaller businesses, Cage allows freelancers and small teams the ability to share projects with clients and other collaborators.
Like the other tools, Cage will allow users to leave visual comments on the design. Cage also has a powerful project management tool that will enable you to assign and manage tasks with both clients and colleagues.
Red Pen
Red Pen is a fast feedback tool for visual teams. As a designer, you can get feedback from your colleagues as well as point and click to explain your thinking.
You can give access to your clients via a private link so that they too can give feedback. And each team member on a particular project will be kept up to date on the version, as well as the comments and feedback that was left by both colleagues and clients.
Fluid UI
Just like its name, building prototypes with Fluid UI is simple, smooth and fast. It has an impressive array of features including, over 2,000 built-in high and low fidelity widgets in component libraries, clickthrough presentations, video calling and live team collaboration. Build and share prototypes or ideas in just a few minutes, whether you are a designer or not.
Office Online
This is Microsoft’s free version of its original Office suite of tools. You get the core of Office: Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Onenote. When you combine it with Outlook.com, you essentially get the Office Home and Student suite.
There are certain limitations on the features that you get for free, however. For instance, if you wish to add a references section such as a table of contents and add citations, you will need to upgrade to the paid version.
There are also some font and formatting limitations as well. But, if you’re looking for basic documentation and editing tools, the free version will suit your needs just fine.
Lucidspark
Lucidspark is a virtual whiteboard where teams can come together to bring their best ideas to life. Collaborate in real time, no matter where you are. Host dynamic brainstorming sessions on an intuitive canvas. Collect ideas, organize thoughts, and pick the best course of action to keep your project moving forward. Then take the next step and turn insights into action. Features include: integrations, infinite canvas, sticky notes, freehand drawing, chat, templates, timer, voting, breakout boards, and more.
Creately
Creately is a visual workspace for brainstorming, planning, executing, and analyzing around projects. Its infinite canvas, powerful diagramming and drawing capabilities, along with real-time collaboration, enable teams to centralize documents, resources, tasks, and communication, creating a single source of truth for effective decision-making and increased productivity. It facilitates synchronous and asynchronous collaboration through in-app video conferencing, live mouse tracking and synced change previews, and comment discussion threads. Creately supports over 70 diagram types spanning across all organizational functions from marketing and education to HR. Creately is trusted by over 5 million users and is used by leading organizations including Netflix, Amazon, NASA, Disney, and PayPal.
Conceptboard
Conceptboard is the most secure collaborative online whiteboard that enables teams of all sizes to centralize projects and collaborate both in real-time and asynchronously. Distributed teams from all over the world use conceptboard for a variety of use cases. From running brainstorming sessions and remote workshops to project planning, from designing new products to facilitating agile processes. Discover how visual collaboration can help break down organizational silos and boost teamwork and productivity. Get your teams collaborating seamlessly within minutes with Conceptboard. Infinite canvas Get your teams on the same page and create a centralized visual hub for all your projects and ideas. Zoom into specific sections or zoom out to understand the big picture. Conceptboard’s infinite canvas ensures you never run out of space for your ideas! Real-time collaboration Follow live cursors, chat or video call right from within the app for a seamless collaboration experience. Feel like you’re in the same room with Conceptboard. Template Library Use our extensive template library to build visual frameworks & easily communicate complex ideas. From Empathy maps to Customer Journeys, from Business Canvas to Project Roadmaps, we’ve got every business function covered. Express yourself visually Use versatile visual tools such as sketches, sticky notes, shapes and arrows to bring your big ideas to life. Drag and drop images, videos, PDFs and other files directly into your board. Share with external stakeholders Easily share boards with external partners like vendors and agencies and get all your stakeholders on the same page.
Bluescape
Bluescape is a visual collaboration platform for the Enterprise. At the core of our software, our virtual workspaces make it easy for cross-functional and remote teams to whiteboard, interact and visualize files, or host an online meeting, side-by-side from anywhere on any device.
Prysm digital workplace
The Prysm digital workplace platform drives a new era of digital transformation and enterprise agility. By enabling individuals and teams to explore all their data, content, applications and tools on hyper-visual, always-on digital canvases, Prysm ignites innovative thinking, drives decisions, accelerates productivity and transforms presentations into experiences. Customers using Prysm benefit from an open, enterprise-grade solution that integrates with existing collaboration tools and scales to hundreds or thousands of users, while meeting advanced security requirements.
Marimba
What is Marimba? Marimba is a web-based productivity tool that aims to redesign a workspace, available for all users, all around the world. Here are some details about the solution. ■ Gather information Marimba supports all kinds of data from all sources, from text, picture, hand drawing, shape, to sticky notes, webpage, design artifacts, flowchart, and even YouTube videos. With these features, you can gather all necessary information at one place without going back and forth among many different tools. ■ Real-time Discussion In order for modern knowledge workers to be able to collaborate together, Marimba provides features like video chat (with emoji 😊), co-editing, real-time cursor, observing mode, LIVE mode and so many more. The goal is to enable the potential of our workforce regardless of where you are. You should be as productive as when you are collocated with your teammates in the same office. ■ Organize Work Marimba allows our users to structure their ideas, data, and information in multiple layers of file hierarchy structure. Starting with “workspace” which you can segment by department, project, or any other way that makes sense for you, to “board” where you can stay on the same page with your teammates, Marimba offers a structured but flexible way for you to organize your work. The workspace consists of “pads” which comes in “structured” and “freeform” format, depending on how you want to organize and present your information. For our new users who may be lost trying to structure their workspace, we also provide multiple templates that they can choose from.
Conclusion
Visual collaboration tools are the fastest, easiest way to create, share and maintain documents online. No need to download or install software. Collaborate right within your browser so you can share your thoughts with others instantaneously!