Concept mapping is a visual technique for representing the relationships between ideas, concepts, and pieces of knowledge. Developed by Joseph Novak at Cornell University in the 1970s as a tool for science education, it has become valuable in UX and service design for making complex domain knowledge legible, for structuring content architecture, and for capturing expert knowledge during research. Unlike mind maps that radiate from a single central idea, concept maps are networked structures where any node can connect to any other.
Concept Mapping
Charting the relationships between ideas to design better information systems
Designers Academy
17 June 2025 · 4 min read
In brief
Concept mapping is a visual technique that uses networked nodes and labeled links to represent relationships between ideas, concepts, and knowledge, valuable for clarifying complex information in design.


