Brainstorming and ideation

Some thinking doesn't fit in a list. When you're trying to find the shape of an idea, the relationship between three half-formed thoughts, or the structure underneath a messy problem, linear tools work against you. A document forces a sequence. A spreadsheet forces a grid. What you need is a surface where you can spread things out, move them around, and see what connects to what. Most brainstorming stalls not because you lack ideas, but because you lack a place to see them all at once and work with them spatially.

This page is for anyone who thinks better visually and needs a workspace where ideas, notes, images, links, and files can be arranged, connected, and explored on an open canvas, with an AI that can help fill in the gaps.

The problem

Linear tools force linear thinking. Documents, note apps, and outlines impose a top-to-bottom structure before you're ready for one. During brainstorming, you don't know the structure yet. That's the whole point. Forcing ideas into a sequence too early kills the connections that would have emerged if you'd been able to see them side by side.

Your raw material is in a different place from your thinking surface. The article that sparked an idea is in your browser. The notes from yesterday's conversation are in a doc. The image that captures the right feeling is on your phone. When you brainstorm, you're pulling fragments together from scattered places, and the overhead of gathering them slows down the thinking.

Ideas without context disappear. You write a sticky note or add a bullet to a brainstorming doc, and a week later it's meaningless without the context that prompted it. The idea was connected to something, a source, a conversation, a reference, but the connection didn't survive the capture. Isolated ideas decay.

What Fabric changes

You think on a spatial surface. The canvas gives you an infinite, open surface where you can place ideas anywhere, group them, draw connections, and rearrange them as your thinking evolves. No imposed structure until you're ready for one.

Your research and references are right there. Because Fabric holds your notes, articles, images, PDFs, and bookmarks alongside the canvas, you can pull material directly into your brainstorm without leaving the tool. The thinking surface and the source material live in the same place.

Ideas stay connected to their context. Notes on the canvas can link to the sources that inspired them. An idea isn't an orphaned sticky note. It's connected to the article, the conversation, or the image that gave it meaning, and that context is searchable later.

How it works

An infinite canvas for spatial thinking. The canvas lets you place notes, images, files, links, and text anywhere on an open surface. Group related ideas, draw connections, create clusters, and rearrange freely. The canvas grows with your thinking rather than constraining it.

Pull in material from your library. Everything you've saved in Fabric, notes, articles, images, PDFs, screenshots, is available to drag onto the canvas. Your brainstorm draws from your actual research and references rather than starting from a blank surface.

Search for what's relevant. Fabric's AI search finds material across your library by meaning. When a brainstorm surfaces a question, search for what you already have on the topic and pull the relevant material onto the canvas.

An AI thinking partner. The AI assistant can help develop a half-formed idea, suggest angles you haven't considered, summarise the material you've gathered on a topic, or help you find structure in a messy canvas. It works from your saved material, so its suggestions are grounded in your actual research and context.

Capture ideas from anywhere. Jot down a thought in notes, record a voice note on your phone, clip something from the web, or forward an email to your email-to-note address. Every fragment arrives in the same system and can be pulled onto a canvas later.

Annotate and develop. Annotate images, documents, and references on the canvas. Add comments, questions, and connections directly on the material so your thinking is captured in context.

A brainstorming workflow in Fabric

Start with a blank canvas. Open a new canvas for the problem or project. No structure yet. Just the surface.

Dump everything. Get every idea, fragment, question, and thought onto the canvas. Don't edit, don't organise, don't evaluate. Speed matters here. Use text, voice notes, images, whatever captures the thought fastest.

Pull in relevant material. Search your library for sources, notes, and references related to what's on the canvas. Drag them in. The brainstorm becomes richer when it's connected to your existing knowledge rather than floating in isolation.

Cluster and connect. Move ideas around. Group related ones. Draw connections between clusters. The spatial arrangement lets you see patterns that aren't visible in a list. Move things that don't fit to the edges. Pull things that resonate toward the centre.

Ask the AI to push further. Ask the assistant to identify what's missing, suggest angles you haven't considered, or help you find structure in the clusters. Use it as a thinking partner, not just a search tool.

When you're ready, extract the structure. Once the shape emerges, write it up as a note, an outline, or a plan. The canvas stays as a record of how the thinking developed, searchable and revisitable.

What compounds over time

Brainstorming canvases accumulate into a record of how your thinking has developed. A canvas from six months ago, with all its references and connections, is still there and searchable. When a similar problem comes up later, you can search for the earlier brainstorm and build on it rather than starting over. Ideas that didn't fit one project might be exactly what a later one needs.

More importantly, every brainstorm benefits from the library you've been building in Fabric. The more you've saved, read, and annotated, the richer the material you can pull into a brainstorm. A canvas connected to a deep library of sources produces better thinking than a canvas connected to nothing.

Related use cases

For collecting and arranging visual references specifically, see moodboards and inspiration. For planning and drafting content after the ideation phase, see content planning. For the general research process that often feeds a brainstorm, see research projects. For building the personal knowledge system that makes brainstorming richer, see second brain.

Get started

Give your ideas a surface where they can spread out, connect, and develop. Try Fabric free.

Comparing tools? See why people choose Fabric as the best brainstorming app and the best AI workspace.

FAQs

What can I put on the canvas?

Text, notes, images, files, PDFs, links, bookmarks, screenshots, and anything else saved in your Fabric library. The canvas accepts any content type and lets you arrange it freely.

Can I pull in material from my existing Fabric library?

Yes. Everything you've saved in Fabric, notes, articles, images, PDFs, is available to drag onto any canvas. Your brainstorm draws from your actual research and references.

Can the AI help me brainstorm?

Yes. The AI assistant can develop half-formed ideas, suggest angles you haven't explored, find related material in your library, or help you identify structure in a messy canvas. It works from your saved material, so its suggestions are grounded in your actual context.

Is the canvas truly infinite?

Yes. There's no fixed boundary. The surface expands as you add material, so you're never constrained by page size or grid limits.

Can I use voice notes to capture ideas quickly?

Yes. Record a voice note and Fabric transcribes it so the idea is searchable as text. You can drop the transcribed note onto a canvas later.

Can I share a brainstorming canvas with collaborators?

Yes. Share a space with teammates and work on a canvas together, or publish a canvas with a link for people outside your team.

Can I search for a brainstorming canvas I made months ago?

Yes. Canvases are searchable by their content, so you can find an old brainstorm by describing what it was about rather than remembering when you created it or what you titled it.

How is this different from Miro or FigJam?

Miro and FigJam are collaborative whiteboarding tools. Fabric's canvas is connected to your entire personal or team library: everything you've saved, read, annotated, and noted. The difference is that a brainstorm in Fabric draws from your accumulated knowledge rather than starting from a blank whiteboard. Search, AI assistance, and your source material are all available on the same surface.

Can I turn a brainstorm into a structured document or outline?

Yes. Once the shape of your thinking emerges on the canvas, write it up as a note or document in notes and docs. The canvas stays as a record of how the thinking developed.

Does the canvas work on mobile?

Yes. You can view and interact with canvases on the mobile app, though the full spatial experience works best on a larger screen.

Can I group and rearrange ideas on the canvas?

Yes. Move items freely, group related ideas, and rearrange as your thinking evolves. The spatial layout is fully flexible and there's no imposed grid or structure.