*** From the Archives ***

This article is from February 18, 2009, and is no longer current.

New Graph-Sketching iApp

When you were young, the grown-ups used to catch you doodling little circles and lines on the back of your exercise books or paper napkins, instead of paying attention to what they said. They didn’t realize that you needed to sketch things out, how they relate to other things, to get them into your head and other people’s heads.
Much later, you learnt the grown-up names for these sketches: mind maps, concept maps, semantic networks, org charts, flowcharts, social networks… Let’s just call them all graphs.
Instaviz turns roughly sketched shapes and lines into aesthetically pleasing graphs, great for drawing concept maps and flowcharts, or just simple note-taking and brainstorming. Instaviz features two functions new to the iPhone platform: advanced shape recognition and automated graph layout.
Sketch a rough shape with your finger and Instaviz transforms what you drew in a split second. Sketch a link between two shapes and Instaviz quickly redraws the graph with the best layout. No pesky user interface getting in the way of your brainstorm!
Instaviz sells for $9.99.

James Fritz is a Principal Program Manager: Content Tools and Workflows at LinkedIn.
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