A bubble map is a thinking map used to describe a single topic. The topic, a noun, sits in a central bubble, and the bubbles around it hold adjectives that describe it, each connected to the center. It's one of the eight Thinking Maps used in schools, and it's a simple way to build descriptive vocabulary or brainstorm everything that's true about one subject.

A bubble map describes one topic: the center is a noun and every surrounding bubble is an adjective that describes it, nothing else. A mind map explores a topic broadly, branching into subtopics, ideas, and tasks at any level of detail. A bubble map is narrow and descriptive; a mind map is wide and organizational. Use a bubble map to describe, a mind map to brainstorm a whole subject.

A double bubble map compares two topics. Two central bubbles sit side by side; shared qualities go in bubbles between them, and qualities unique to each go on the outside. It does for thinking maps what a Venn diagram does for sets, making it a clean way to compare and contrast two things by their attributes rather than just listing them.

Write the topic in the central bubble, then brainstorm adjectives that describe it, how it looks, feels, sounds, or behaves. Add one bubble per adjective, each linked to the center. Push past obvious words to specific ones as you go, and cluster related adjectives if it helps. The result is a focused picture of everything that describes your topic.

Common uses: describing a character in a novel, a product like coffee (this template's example), an animal in a science lesson, or a historical figure. In a team setting, a bubble map can capture every attribute of a brand or a customer. Anywhere you need to describe one thing in rich detail, a bubble map fits.