At Knock, we take on brand experience design projects of all shapes, sizes, and speeds. However, our collaborative working style is a throughline that anchors every endeavor, and digital whiteboards are one of our top collaboration tools.
What are they? Also known as collaborative whiteboards, online whiteboards, or web whiteboards, digital whiteboards are virtual canvases that enable real-time collaboration. They offer teams a shared space to add text, sketch, collage, import PDFs and images, leave comments, and more.
Read on to learn why digital whiteboards like Miro and FigJam have earned a permanent spot in our toolkit, both for use internally and with client partners.
1. They’re Visually Freeing
Digital whiteboards let us think spatially, which suits our work as creatives. Brand experience design work can involve many moving parts: audience insights, competitive landscapes, brand framework, design systems, messaging hierarchies, and beyond. The ability to make complexity more digestible through color coding, sticky notes, connective lines, and sectioned-off frames feels natural — much more so than sorting information in a linear document with page breaks.
2. They’re Refreshingly Informal
Unlike a polished presentation deck, digital whiteboards invite messiness. There’s no need to formally “hit send” on a meticulously formatted and fully developed idea. Instead, thoughts can be placed within the live board and updated incrementally. This welcomes wide participation by making idea-sharing feel lower stakes.
3. They’re Democratizing
As an agency who values collaboration, our teams work beyond silos, and digital whiteboards help us break down barriers between disciplines. Visual creatives can import, arrange, and archive scraps and sketches. Voice creatives can drop copy thoughts directly onto visuals using sticky notes. Strategists can add research support and assist in organizing ideas. Account and project management can easily access the board for smooth project oversight. Everyone can follow the thinking as it unfolds, which builds trust and yields better outcomes.
Additionally, when we share a board with clients, they don’t feel like passive recipients of the work. Instead, they’re collaborators who can add comments, rearrange elements, access our ideas archive, and contribute their own builds. This is especially true when we’re using a digital whiteboard in a live working session with clients. It’s the perfect container for co-creation.
4. They’re Streamlining
Digital whiteboards eliminate the need to dig for reference documents before concepting or reviewing. Users are able to import the brief, research findings, mood boards, feedback from past rounds, and any other key resources, so they’re immediately visible upon opening the board—no need to flip between tabs or windows.
New team members can also get up to speed by exploring the board rather than requesting file after file. And the single source of truth keeps everyone aligned. The burdensome task of pulling up files no longer slows the process and interrupts creative momentum.
In Summary
Digital whiteboards have fundamentally changed the way we work. They’ve helped us build more synergy internally, and a stronger sense of partnership with clients. A true outlet for living out our commitment to collaboration.