A creative system that supports the entire path from spark to concept

Scribble gives users one unified workspace for early stage work.
Brainstorms, visual references and tasks stay in the same environment, so ideas evolve smoothly from exploration to clear direction without switching tools.

A creative system that supports the entire path from spark to concept

Scribble gives users one unified workspace for early stage work.
Brainstorms, visual references and tasks stay in the same environment, so ideas evolve smoothly from exploration to clear direction without switching tools.

The gap in early-stage creative work_

Ideas, screenshots and notes scatter across tools, making it hard to compare directions, see patterns or keep momentum.

It’s a familiar pain for anyone working with early ideas, especially in design-led environments.
When the work is scattered across different places, even strong ideas struggle to become clear and actionable.

Problem framing_

What the research surfaced

Observations from real workflows, along with my own experience, surfaced a set of repeating challenges in early stage design work.

Fragmented inputs

Ideas, screenshots, references and notes live across boards, tabs and chats, making early thinking scattered by default. .

No place for meaning-making

People collect a lot, but nothing helps them compare directions, spot emerging patterns or connect related thoughts.

Rigid tool boundaries

Brainstorming, moodboarding and planning happen in separate tools, great individually, but disconnected from each other.

Process goes invisible

Iterations, forks and discarded thoughts aren't captured, so teams lose context when ideas evolve.

Hard to turn insight into action

Even when a good direction appears, there's no lightweight way to turn it into next steps without switching tools.

Research Synthesis and Core Hypothesis

The Core Hypothesis. Connecting thought to action.

I looked at the way designers move between tools when they start a project. Inspiration is saved in one place. Early structure is built somewhere else.
Tasks are written in a third place.
Somewhere in that journey the story behind the idea breaks and the momentum fades. 3 patterns kept repeating:

Context gets diluted

Moving between tools breaks the flow. Information loses its meaning when it travels alone without the reason behind it.

Tools force structure too early

A lot of platforms push you to be organized before you are even ready to understand what you have. Creativity needs a stage where it can be messy without pressure.

AI sits outside the workflow

Even when AI is available it usually lives in another tab. Every time you want to use it you need to stop and reframe your thoughts.
 It breaks the moment instead of supporting it.

The hypothesis is simple.
If we create a space where thinking, collecting, organizing and acting stay connected:

The work feels lighter > Ideas become clearer > Moving forward becomes natural.

How Scribble Solves This

Capture the fog → Brainstorm

Thinkspace gathers your ideas, notes, screenshots and links into one coherent flow, with the AI adding suggestions and helping shape and organize the material. Everything sits in one place and stays easy to work with, so early thinking can evolve into direction without losing momentum.

Shape the thinking → Moodboard

Soft clusters and moodboard tiles help compare directions without forcing a rigid template. Brainstorms, visual references and early concepts live on the same canvas, so patterns, gaps and opportunities become easier to see.

Move ideas into reality → Tasks

When a direction feels right, you can turn it into clear tasks with one click, with the AI supporting the breakdown where needed. Each task stays connected to its cluster or card, so your progress always reflects the thinking behind it.

Expected Impact and Future Validation

WHAT EXPECTED TO IMPROVE

HOW TO VALIDATE IT

Fewer context switching events

With everything in one flow there should be fewer jumps between tools.

More continuity between thought and action

Ideas move directly into structured tasks without breaking focus.

More momentum in early stage work

Users can stay in the creative flow longer without setup overhead.

More confidence in captured ideas

Thoughts feel less temporary and more actionable once recorded.

Measure how often users leave the product during early stage work

Track the time between capturing content and creating a task

Run short clarity surveys after completing a flow inside the Thinkspace

Track the percentage of AI outputs used without heavy editing

Why it matters?

Even without real data this creates a clear definition of what success looks like. It keeps the product focused on reducing friction and making the early creative flow feel lighter and more connected. It also shows the strategic thinking behind the concept without pretending the product was tested or launched.

Expected Impact and Future Validation

WHAT EXPECTED TO IMPROVE

Fewer context switching events

With everything in one flow there should be fewer jumps between tools.

More continuity between thought and action

Ideas move directly into structured tasks without breaking focus.

More momentum in early stage work

Users can stay in the creative flow longer without setup overhead.

More confidence in captured ideas

Thoughts feel less temporary and more actionable once recorded.

HOW TO VALIDATE IT

Measure how often users leave the product during early stage work

Track the time between capturing content and creating a task

Run short clarity surveys after completing a flow inside the Thinkspace

Track the percentage of AI outputs used without heavy editing

Why it matters?

Even without real data this creates a clear definition of what success looks like. It keeps the product focused on reducing friction and making the early creative flow feel lighter and more connected. It also shows the strategic thinking behind the concept without pretending the product was tested or launched.

Scribble as a system

A single browser window holds the whole early-stage flow:
brief, directions, visual references and next steps on the same surface.

The Idea Engine:​ A system that mirrors how designers actually think.

Scribble is built from 4 simple building blocks that adapt to any workflow and keep early work organized.

Items can live at any level: Project, Space, Cluster or Card and the Thinkspace brings them together into one continuous surface.

Items can live at any level: Project, Space, Cluster or Card and the Thinkspace brings them together into one continuous surface.

AI-powered plan generation inside the canvas

Designers stay inside the project surface, use the AI as needed, and keep all interactions within the same Thinkspace flow.

STEP 1

Open AI composer from the Thinkspace

The lightweight AI composer opens directly inside the canvas, allowing users to prompt without switching modes or interrupting their spatial flow.

STEP 2

Choose how to bring context into the prompt​

Users can attach any reference: files, screenshots, links or photos giving the AI the right context to work with and helping it stay aligned with the project.

STEP 3

Attach the floor plan as a real project file

Uploaded assets become part of the working surface. Scribble treats them as actionable inputs the AI can analyze, understand and build upon.

STEP 4

Ask Scribble to propose lighting electricity ideas

With context in place, users can ask for clear, structured ideas. The AI responds with focused insights that turn into cards inside the Thinkspace.

Thinkspace: Flexible visual workspace

A flexible surface where users arrange thoughts, references and actionable items in whatever shape fits their process.

KEY DESIGN DECISIONS

Mixed-content workspace

Text notes, images, tasks, quotes and references coexist in a single flexible canvas, enabling a holistic view of the project.

Expandable cards

Clicking a card opens a focused editing state: allowing deeper work without leaving the canvas or disrupting the flow.

Lightweight filtering

The top filters narrow down only the content displayed in this canvas, maintaining clarity and reducing noise in complex projects.

Action menu

The contextual “More” menu exposes core system actions (edit, duplicate, delete, move) without cluttering the default card view.

Freeform arrangement

Cards can be moved and grouped freely, creating a living visual board that adapts naturally to each designer’s workflow.

Color-coded structure

Each card’s color is fully customizable and functions as part of the organizational system, helping project owners group, prioritize, and visually classify content. Colors act as modular signals rather than decoration, giving teams control over their own hierarchy.

Design principles behind the AI Composer

The AI Composer is designed for quick, contextual prompts that live inside the Thinkspace surface,
so users can get the right insight at the right moment while staying focused on their work.

Inline, not modal

The composer sits at the bottom of the canvas instead of opening a blocking dialog, so the board always stays visible and keeps anchoring the user’s thinking.

Context-aware by default

The current project, Space and selected cards automatically inform the AI, so prompts stay grounded in the real work rather than generic chat.

Structured in, structured out

Users can attach files, screenshots or links, and responses come back as cards, tasks or clusters that plug directly into the existing Thinkspace layout.

Designed for micro-prompts

The composer is intentionally small and lightweight, encouraging short, targeted questions that support the current step instead of turning into a separate AI workspace.

The Editing Panel: a focused workspace inside the canvas

The editing panel opens a clear workspace for working on a card in detail. Users can update content, adjust visual settings and add media or AI suggestions without leaving the flow of the Thinkspace.

Opening a card reveals a focused editing pane with appearance, content tools and AI options in one place

Users can adjust typography, alignment, colors, highlights and add media without switching screens

Task Mode lets any card become an actionable item while keeping its original context attached

AI tools assist with links, associations and free prompts directly inside the editor

Export and sharing tools sit at the bottom, keeping the flow clean and predictable

Clusters organize early work into areas you can act on

Clusters give early ideas a clear shape by grouping related cards into a spacious, readable layout. Gentle color cues, balanced spacing and a simple hierarchy highlight what belongs together. This clarity helps users make sense of early directions and move forward with less friction.

Moodboards that stay linked to the work

Visual references sit close to the decisions that shape them, keeping context easy to recall during exploration.

DESKTOP

Drag files straight onto the board.

Paste any URL - Scribble turns it into a reference card.

Send selected brainstorm cards straight into a moodboard.

Use the browser’s “Send to Scribble” extension for quick saves.

MOBILE · OS-LEVEL

Share → “Save to Scribble” from any app (browser, Pinterest, Instagram, Screenshots/Photo gallery).

Long-press images to send them directly into a board.

Captured items land inside the chosen moodboard, already tagged.

Why it matters?

Inspiration usually lives across screenshots, tabs and chats. Scribble keeps it inside the project, instantly connected to the concept you're exploring.

5 seconds from web → to the Thinkspace

Spot inspiration anywhere

Seeing something inspiring on any app or website makes the user want to save it.

Open the OS menu

A long-press triggers the system’s context menu to appear.

Save to Scribble

Selecting “Save to Scribble” sends the item straight into your workspace.

Get a confirmation

A quick toast confirms the save and lets the user continue without interruption.

Added to the moodboard

The captured item appears in the chosen moodboard, ready for further exploration.

Moodboards that stay linked to the work

Visual references sit close to the decisions that shape them, keeping context easy to recall during exploration.

DESKTOP

Drag files straight onto the board.

Paste any URL - Scribble turns it into a reference card.

Send selected brainstorm cards straight into a moodboard.

Use the browser’s “Send to Scribble” extension for quick saves.

MOBILE · OS-LEVEL

Share → “Save to Scribble” from any app (browser, Pinterest, Instagram, Screenshots/Photo gallery).

Long-press images to send them directly into a board.

Captured items land inside the chosen moodboard, already tagged.

Why it matters?

Inspiration usually lives across screenshots, tabs and chats. Scribble keeps it inside the project, instantly connected to the concept you're exploring.

Tasks: From thinking to execution

Turning a card into a task preserves its context, so action stays aligned with the intention behind it.

THINKSPACE VIEW

DASHBOARD VIEW

Reflection

Designing Scribble showed me how quickly an idea can lose its clarity as a project grows, especially without tools that keep the context together.

This insight shaped the concept behind Scribble. A surface that supports the thinking instead of competing with it.
Not because it has fewer features but because it creates fewer interruptions. The AI layer follows the same principle. It stays contextual, grounded in real work and never louder than the person using it.

It was about creating a space that lets users work the way they think, without forcing a specific method.