A flexible layer around structured work
Creative Canvas is the spatial workspace for thinking that is not yet a linear task list. Use it to explore a project, group work into phases and sprints, make decisions and risks visible, and then hand committed work into the structured delivery system.
The canvas is object-based rather than a flattened image. Text, cards and connectors remain editable and readable while the viewport pans and zooms.
Collect evidence, notes, ideas, decisions, risks and task candidates. Connections retain the relationship between an insight and the work it informs.
Choose the right object
| Tool | Use it for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Sticky / Text | Notes, evidence and labels | Keep early thinking lightweight and editable |
| Phase / Sprint | Grouping work by delivery structure | Place related objects inside a meaningful project boundary |
| Task | A candidate delivery commitment | Refine it, connect it and send it through Handoff when ready |
| Expense | A possible project cost | Keep commercial context near the work that creates it |
| Decision | A chosen direction | Connect the evidence and downstream work affected by the choice |
| Risk | A threat or constraint | Link it to the tasks, assumptions or decisions it can affect |
| Idea | An option worth exploring | Develop or reject it before it becomes committed work |
Make relationships explicit
Choose Connector, drag from one object to another, then select the line to edit its meaning and color. A connection should explain why two objects belong together, not simply decorate the board.
| Connection | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dependency | One object depends on another |
| Handoff | Work or evidence moves between people, teams or stages |
| Decision path | The object contributes to or follows a decision |
| Risk link | The risk can affect the connected object |
| Idea flow | Ideas evolve or combine along this path |
| Blocked by | The connected work cannot move yet |
Use the right panel for the current decision
- Object edits the selected card, text, section, task candidate or connector.
- AI helps develop selected work using the board and project context; review generated changes before treating them as commitments.
- Handoff turns prepared task candidates and project objects into structured delivery data.
- Access controls who can view, comment or edit the board. When the viewer cannot manage access, the same area becomes Comments.
- Boards opens saved canvases; New starts a separate board; Save persists the current board and its attached teams.
Open a creative board inside a card
Double-click a card’s empty area or drag grip, or use its open-board arrow, to enter a separate creative screen linked to that card. Click editable text to edit it; frame and moodboard headings keep double-click rename.
Use this space for ideas, moodboards, templates, Brief Master maps, references and files. These materials stay in Creative Canvas and inherit the original board’s permissions. Use Back or the breadcrumbs to return; your view and saved materials are preserved.
Deleting the source card also removes its nested creative materials and discussions.
Discuss a card in a floating chat
Select a card and open Comments in its right panel. The conversation opens in a floating window that you can move by its header and close with ×. Its title identifies the card being discussed, even if you select another card on the canvas.
The badge counts your unread comments. Your own messages do not increase it. Comments are marked read when their messages are visible in an open chat; messages below your current scroll position remain unread.
New comments and read markers arrive through a private Supabase Realtime channel, without chat polling. History loads on connection and is synchronized once after reconnection. The header shows Live, Connecting or Offline. Enter sends a comment; Shift+Enter starts a new line. Closing the chat preserves its draft for this session.
A practical canvas workflow
- 1Name the board
Use a project or decision name that another participant can recognize later in Boards.
- 2Map evidence before tasks
Add notes, ideas, decisions and risks, then group them into phases or sprints.
- 3Connect meaning
Use typed connectors so the map communicates dependencies and handoffs without a meeting.
- 4Invite the right people
Attach project teams and grant View, Comment or Edit access only where required.
- 5Convert committed work
Use Handoff when an object is ready to become part of delivery, rather than recreating it manually.
- 6Save and reconnect safely
Confirm the live status after a network interruption before continuing shared edits.
Navigate without losing control
- Select mode moves and edits objects; Pan mode moves the field without selecting cards.
- Use the fixed zoom controls for precise zoom in, zoom out and Fit. Trackpad and touch gestures operate inside the field.
- Collapse the inspector when you need more spatial room; reopening it does not change object positions.
- On mobile, use deliberate tap versus drag gestures so opening an object does not conflict with moving it.