DESIGN THINKING
Run design thinking
on one canvas.
Empathy maps, problem statements, ideation, and prototypes in one place. Storyflow's AI helps synthesize research and generate ideas as you move through the five stages. Free forever, no credit card.
Free plan
No credit card
Works in your browser
What is design thinking?
Design thinking is a five-stage problem-solving process: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Teams run it on a shared canvas of research notes, maps, and sketches. Storyflow adds AI that synthesizes research into insights and generates ideas as you go. Miro and FigJam are the common whiteboard alternatives for running the workshop.
Used by creative professionals at:
Artlist
Pixar
Nike
Red Bull
The North Face
Porsche
Start from a ready-made template
Pick a board to see what you can build, then let AI fill it in. Every template is a real, editable starting point on the same infinite canvas.
Mind Map
Branch one central idea out into themes and sub-points, then drag the connections around until the structure makes sense.
What is the design thinking process?
Design thinking is a way to solve problems by starting with the people who have them. It moves through five stages: empathize with users, define the real problem, ideate a wide range of solutions, prototype the most promising ones, and test them with real people. The stages are not strictly linear. You loop back as you learn.
The work of design thinking is visual and messy. Empathy maps, interview notes, affinity clusters, how-might-we questions, sketches, and test findings all need to live somewhere the whole team can see and move them. A document flattens that into a list. A slide deck freezes it. The process wants space.
Storyflow gives design thinking an infinite canvas built for exactly this. Drop in research and the AI helps cluster it into insights and draft how-might-we questions. Ideate with sticky notes and mind maps, sketch prototypes with the pen tool, and pin test findings next to the ideas they validate. Because the AI reads the whole board, it works with your actual research instead of generic prompts.
HOW IT WORKS
Move through all five stages in one place.
No exporting between a research doc, a whiteboard, and a prototype tool. It all lives on the canvas.
01
Empathize
Drop in interviews, survey notes, and observations. The AI helps cluster them into empathy maps and themes.
02
Define
Turn the research into a clear problem statement and how-might-we questions the team can rally around.
03
Ideate
Generate a wide range of ideas with sticky notes and mind maps, and ask the AI to push past the obvious ones.
04
Prototype and test
Sketch prototypes on the canvas, share a view-only link to test with users, and pin findings next to the ideas.
Every stage of design thinking, on one board.
Research, definition, ideas, and prototypes stop living in four tools and start informing each other.
Turn raw research into insight
Synthesize research with AI
Drop in interview notes and observations and the AI clusters them into themes and empathy maps, so synthesis takes minutes instead of a whole afternoon.
See the empathy map maker →
Map the journey and the problem
Define the real problem
Map the user journey to find where it breaks, then write the problem statement and how-might-we questions next to the evidence for them.
See the user journey map →
Diverge, then converge
Ideate and cluster with AI
Fill the board with ideas on sticky notes and mind maps, ask the AI for angles you missed, then cluster and vote to find the ones worth prototyping.
See the affinity diagram maker →
Prototype and gather feedback
Sketch, share, and test
Sketch prototypes with the pen tool, share a view-only link so users and stakeholders can react, and pin their feedback next to the ideas it tests.
See the AI brainstorming tool →Free forever. No credit card.
Open a canvas and run the whole process from empathy to test. The free plan is yours for as long as you want it.
Unlimited design thinking boards on an infinite canvas
Basic AI usage to synthesize research and generate ideas
3 starter frameworks built in
Invite your team and share view-only links for testing
BUILT FOR THE PROCESS
More than a design thinking template.
Storyflow is an AI-native canvas, so research, ideas, and prototypes stay connected across every stage.
AI that works from your real research
Synthesis without the all-day workshop
Cluster the evidence: Drop in notes and the AI groups them into themes and insights, so the team debates findings instead of transcribing them.
Draft how-might-we questions: Turn insights into how-might-we prompts the ideation stage can build on, drafted from your own research.
Context-aware ideas: Because the AI reads the whole board, the ideas it suggests respond to your users, not a generic brief.
Space to think, not a fixed grid
Ideate the way the process wants
Sticky notes and mind maps: Diverge across an infinite canvas with sticky notes, mind maps, and sketches, then converge by clustering.
200+ frameworks: Storyflow's Story Blueprints library includes empathy map, journey map, and ideation style templates.
Vote and prioritize: Group the best ideas and mark the ones worth prototyping, so the board narrows toward a decision.
Remote and in-person, same board
Run the workshop from anywhere
Real-time collaboration: Invite the team to the same board and work together whether they are in the room or remote.
Facilitate on any screen: Run the session from a laptop, project it, or follow along on a phone. The board stays in sync.
View-only for testing: Share a view-only link so users can react to prototypes without an account.
From workshop to what happens next
Carry the outcome forward
One connected board: Research, definition, ideas, and prototypes stay on one infinite canvas instead of four exported files.
Hand off with context: Share the board so the team that builds the solution sees why, not just what.
Reuse the structure: Duplicate a strong session as a template so your process gets sharper each time you run it.
Explore templates for your project
Every template opens as a real, editable board on the infinite canvas. Pick the closest fit and make it your own.
Mind Map
Branch one central idea out into themes and sub-points, then drag the connections around until the structure makes sense.
What creators are saying
Join early creators getting structured workspaces and AI that remembers their projects
“Storyflow has sped up my workflow by at least 3x, which means more flow state and more projects I can actually ship. It truly changed the way me and my team create.”
Reilin Joey
Director & YouTuber
“One prompt gets me a structured board. But the tactics are my favorite. I run my YouTube scripts through them and my intros and retention got better. It's amazing.”
Justkay
YouTuber & Freelance Filmmaker
“I used to juggle five apps to plan a project. Now I describe what I am making and get boards, lists, and a schedule. All in one place.”
George
@fernwehchronicles
Design thinking, answered.
Everything people ask about running design thinking with Storyflow.
The five stages are empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. You start by understanding users, define the real problem, generate a wide range of ideas, build quick prototypes, and test them with real people. The stages loop rather than run strictly in order. In Storyflow all five live on one infinite canvas so you can move between them freely.
Start with the user. Solve the real problem.
Drop in your research, let the AI synthesize it, and run every stage on one canvas. Free plan, no credit card.