Customizing Topic Shape, Style and Layout

You can customize the brainstorming diagram in a similar manner to other types of diagrams by changing the shape, style, and layout.

Customizing the Topic Shape

The shapes of individual topics can be customized into a variety of built-in shapes. Hold down the Shift key, select the topics one by none and in the Brainstorming tab, click Change Topic in the Arrange section.

This opens the Change Shape dialog box, which lists the shape types you can change to. Select a shape type and click OK.

Customizing the Topic Style

The brainstorming diagram can be customized by choosing different themes and theme variants. To choose a theme, go to the Design tab on the Ribbon and select a theme. You can also choose different variants for the theme by selecting a variant in the Variants section. The Variant section has a dropdown using which you can further customize the colors and effects such as drop shadows.

Customizing the Topic Layout

You can also customize the style of the diagram so that it looks more elegant and professional. In the Brainstorming tab, click Diagram Style to open the Brainstorming Style dialog box. You can choose from a variety of brainstorming styles and also a couple of mosaic options, which includes a mix of all the styles. Select a style and click Apply to see the result. Click OK to close the dialog box.

You can also customize the layout by clicking Layout in the Brainstorming tab. Select a layout from the Select a layout section. You can also choose the type of connector in the Connectors section. Select a layout and click Apply to see the result. Click OK to close the dialog box.