# FigJam: Run a Team Brainstorm on One Board and Share It

> Stop losing ideas in a chat thread: build a FigJam board with sections, sticky notes, a timer and stamps, then share it. Free plan, free lesson.

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/figjam-team-brainstorm-one-board · Updated 2026-10-20 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

## Practice it step by step

[Start the free practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/figjam-team-brainstorm)

[Take the free module: why it matters, practice and a quick check →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ai-apps-worth-knowing/46)

You do every step yourself in a practice copy of FigJam. It checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, about 12 minutes, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Open full screen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/figjam-team-brainstorm)

Free · Live now · [Business Automations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/business-automations) · FigJam · Figma · ~12 min · 16 steps · Beginner

Updated October 20, 2026. Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. [How we check this lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about#how-we-check)

Most team brainstorms happen in a chat thread, and most of the ideas get lost in the scroll. One shared whiteboard fixes that: every idea is a sticky note, with a name on it, in a place everyone can see. [FigJam](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/figjam) is Figma's online whiteboard, and Figma's help center says it is on every plan, including the free Starter plan. In this free business-case lesson you help a made-up HR consulting team move its monthly brainstorm onto one FigJam board: add and name sections, add color-coded sticky notes, put the question in a shape at the top, connect problems to fixes, run a silent 10-minute timer, mark favorites with stamps, and share the board so the team can edit it. The screenshots on this page and in the lesson come from Figma's help center, credited and linked under each one, so they show Figma's demo files. This is my own lesson, not an official Figma course.

## At a glance

| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| What you build | A business case for a team whose brainstorms get lost in a chat thread: build one FigJam board with sections, color-coded sticky notes, a timer and stamps, then share it with a link, all on Figma's free Starter plan. |
| Tools | FigJam |
| Time | About 12 minutes, 16 steps in 6 parts |
| Level | Beginner, no coding needed |
| Cost | Free |
| Ways to learn it | [Practice it step by step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/figjam-team-brainstorm) |

### The 6 parts, in short

1. Ideas lost in a chat thread: Count what the chat thread loses, Meet FigJam.
2. Make the board: Create a FigJam board, Add a section, Name and color the sections.
3. Get every idea on a sticky: Add a sticky note, Color the stickies, Add a heading box, Connect a problem to its fix.
4. Run the session: Start a 10-minute timer, Mark favorites with stamps.
5. Share it with the team: Invite the team, Open the link settings, Let people edit, Copy the link.
6. What to do next: Compare the two meetings.

**Start here first:** [AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-receipt-extractor-n8n-google-sheets) (module 1 of Business Automations)

**In the course:** [Part 9 · n8n Automation Toolkit](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/part-9-n8n-automation-toolkit) (Module 97 of the [full course](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course))

**Part of:** [AI for Recruiting & HR](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/paths/ai-for-recruiting-and-hr) (step 19 of 19)

**Part of:** [AI Apps Worth Knowing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/paths/partner-tools-ai-apps) (step 75 of 77). Next up: [HubSpot: Capture a Web Lead and Follow Up the Same Day](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/hubspot-capture-web-lead-follow-up-same-day)

**Part of:** [AI for Meetings](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/paths/ai-for-meetings) (step 14 of 15). Next up: [Speak AI for Beginners: Transcripts, Themes and AI Chat Explained](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/speak-ai-for-beginners-transcripts-themes-ai-chat)

## The business case: ideas lost in a chat thread

Picture Priya Shah, who leads a six-person [client onboarding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/customer-onboarding) team at Northgate HR Partners, a made-up HR consulting firm. Once a month the team brainstorms one question, such as how to get a new client fully onboarded in 2 weeks instead of 3. They do it in a chat thread during a 60-minute call.

Here is what last month looked like, using example numbers you should replace with your own: 140 chat messages, 38 ideas, about 20 minutes spent scrolling back and asking people to repost, and only 11 ideas made it into the notes. Priya's target for the next session is 30 minutes, with every idea on one board.

## Who this is for, and what you need

Team leads and managers at consulting, HR, accounting, marketing and other office teams who run brainstorms, retros or planning sessions. To follow the practice you need nothing. To do it for real you need a free Figma account. Figma's help center says the Starter plan includes FigJam, with 3 FigJam files in one folder and unlimited drafts. Check figma.com/pricing for paid plans.

Two features are left out on purpose. Figma's help center says voting sessions and open sessions (letting people without an account edit for 24 hours) are on paid plans, so this lesson uses stamps for favorites and invites the team instead.

A note on the screens: this lesson uses the screenshots Figma publishes in its own help center. They show Figma's demo content, such as a meeting board with a Roll call section and a company called Noodle Co, so your screens will show your own board.

## Step 1: create the board and add sections

Type figjam.new in your browser's address bar, or click FigJam board in the Figma file browser. A new board opens with the templates picker. You can browse Brainstorming and click Insert template, or close the picker and build your own, as the lesson does.

Click the Section tool in the bottom toolbar, or press Shift S, and drag on the board to draw a big section. Press Ctrl D (Command D on a Mac) to duplicate it until you have four. Double-click each title to rename it: What slows us down, Ideas, Top picks and Parking lot. Give each section its own color from the section's menu.

## Step 2: sticky notes, colors, shapes and connectors

Click the stack of stickies in the toolbar, or press S, click the board to drop a sticky, and type. Each sticky shows your name at the bottom by default. Keep to one idea per sticky. Select a sticky to change its color, or select several to change them all at once.

Agree on colors before you start: yellow for an idea, green for a quick win, pink for something that needs another team. Put the question at the top in a square from the Shape tool, or with the T text tool. Draw connectors from a problem to the idea that fixes it: press X for a bent connector or L for a straight one, then drag between the two stickies.

## Step 3: run a silent, timed round, then stamp favorites

Click Timer, voting, and music at the top right of the board, type 10 minutes and click play. Figma's help center says the timer is available on any plan, anyone in the file can pause it or add time, and everyone sees it shake when it reaches 00:00. During the 10 minutes, everyone writes stickies in silence.

Then read the board out loud and let everyone mark favorites. Click Stamp in the toolbar or press E, pick a stamp such as +1 or a thumbs up, and click a sticky to place it. Stamps stay attached when you move the sticky, and you can hover a stamp to see who added it. Move the stickies with the most stamps into Top picks.

## Step 4: share the board so the team can edit

On the Starter plan, move the board out of Drafts first. Figma's help center says a file in Drafts shared with Anyone can only be viewed, and that to grant edit access you move the file into a folder. Click the arrow next to the file name, choose Move..., pick your folder and click Move.

Click Share at the top right. Type your teammates' emails in the invite field, set can edit and send the invite. To share by link, click the Who has access row, choose who can open it, and under What they can do pick Edit, then Save. Click Copy link and post it in the team chat. Anyone with an edit link can change the board, so for a client, pick View.

## Mistakes to avoid

- Several ideas on one sticky. Keep to one idea, so it can be moved, grouped and stamped on its own.
- Talking before writing. Run the silent timed round first, then discuss.
- No color key. Agree what each sticky color means before anyone starts.
- Leaving the board in Drafts. On the Starter plan, teammates can only view it there.
- Sharing an edit link outside the team. Anyone with that link can change the board.
- Ending without owners. Every top pick needs a name and a date before the call ends.

## Links

- [FigJam (Figma)](https://www.figma.com/figjam/): the online whiteboard this lesson teaches.
- [Guide to FigJam (Figma help)](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004362321-Guide-to-FigJam): Figma's overview: create a file, sections, stickies, shapes, connectors, stamps.
- [Organize your FigJam board with sections (Figma help)](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/4939765379351-Organize-your-FigJam-board-with-sections): create, rename, lock and hide sections.
- [Sticky notes in FigJam (Figma help)](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004414322-Sticky-notes-in-FigJam): add, color, duplicate and connect stickies.
- [Stay on track with the timer in FigJam (Figma help)](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/4402269549591-Stay-on-track-with-the-timer-in-FigJam): the shared timer, available on any plan.
- [Share files and prototypes (Figma help)](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/360040531773-Share-files-and-prototypes): invite people, set who has access and what they can do, copy the link.
- [Starter plan overview (Figma help)](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/13838684089751-Starter-plan-overview): what the free plan includes. Check figma.com/pricing for paid plans.

## Try it yourself, free

Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive module walks you through every click in a practice copy of FigJam, checks each step, and never touches your real accounts.

[Start “FigJam: Run a Team Brainstorm on One Board and Share It”](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/figjam-team-brainstorm)

## Step by step: FigJam: Run a Team Brainstorm on One Board and Share It

All 16 steps of the interactive module, in order. In the module you watch each one, then do it yourself in a practice copy that checks your work.

### 1. Ideas lost in a chat thread

1. **Count what the chat thread loses.** Priya Shah leads a six-person client [onboarding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/employee-onboarding) team at **Northgate HR Partners** (made up). Every month they brainstorm in a chat thread during a **60 minutes** call. Last time: **140 chat messages**, **38 ideas**, **about 20 minutes** spent scrolling back and reposting, and only **11** ideas made it into the notes. Her target: **30 minutes, every idea on one board**. These are example numbers, so swap in your own. Click the **ideas captured** row.
   Meet Priya. She leads a client onboarding team. They brainstorm in a chat thread. Last time, they posted thirty-eight ideas. Only eleven made it into the notes. The rest got lost in the scroll.
2. **Meet FigJam.** FigJam is Figma's online whiteboard. Everyone adds sticky notes to one board at the same time, so nothing scrolls away. Figma's help center says FigJam is on every plan, including the free **Starter** plan. The question for the board: *How do we get a new client fully onboarded in 2 weeks instead of 3?* **The FigJam screens in this lesson are screenshots from Figma's own help center**, linked under each one. They show Figma's demo files, so yours will show your own. Click the **FigJam** card.
   FigJam is Figma's online whiteboard. Everyone adds sticky notes to one board, at the same time. It works on the free plan. The screens ahead are screenshots from Figma's own help center.

### 2. Make the board

3. **Create a FigJam board.** Sign in to Figma and type **figjam.new** in your browser's address bar, or click **FigJam board** in the file browser. A new board opens with the templates picker. To use a ready-made layout, browse **Brainstorming** and click **Insert template**. In this lesson you build your own, so you know every part. Close the picker with the **X**.
   A new board opens, with a list of templates. You could pick a brainstorm template. Here, you'll build your own. Close the list with the X.
4. **Add a section.** Sections group stickies so they stay together. Click the **Section** tool in the bottom toolbar, or press **Shift S**. Then click and drag on the board to draw a big section. Make one for each part of the brainstorm. Click the **Section** tool.
   Sections keep related stickies together.
5. **Name and color the sections.** Press **Ctrl D** (Mac: **Command D**) to duplicate a section, until you have four. Double-click a section's title to rename it. Name them: **What slows us down**, **Ideas**, **Top picks**, **Parking lot**. Give each its own color with the color picker in the section's menu. Figma's screenshot shows its own meeting board. Click a **section title**.
   Duplicate the section until you have four. Then double-click each title, and rename it. What slows us down. Ideas. Top picks. Parking lot. Give each one its own color.

### 3. Get every idea on a sticky

6. **Add a sticky note.** Click the **stack of stickies** in the toolbar, or press **S**. Hover over the board to pick a spot, click to drop it, and start typing. Each sticky shows your name at the bottom by default, so everyone can see who added what. One idea per sticky. Click the **stack of stickies**.
   Or press S. One idea per sticky.
7. **Color the stickies.** Agree on colors before you start: **yellow** for an idea, **green** for a quick win, **pink** for something that needs another team. Select a sticky, open the **color picker**, and pick a color. Select several stickies to change them all at once. Click the **green** color.
   Agree on colors first. Yellow for an idea. Green for a quick win. Pink for something that needs another team.
8. **Add a heading box.** Put the question at the top, so nobody drifts off topic. Click the **Shape** tool and pick the **square**, then click the board to drop it, and type the question: *How do we get a new client fully onboarded in 2 weeks instead of 3?* For plain notes, the **T** text tool in the toolbar also works. Click the **square**.
   Put the question at the top, so nobody drifts.
9. **Connect a problem to its fix.** Draw a line from a problem sticky to the idea that fixes it. Choose a connector in the same menu, or press **X** for a bent connector and **L** for a straight one. Click and drag between the two stickies. Click the **bent connector**.
   Link a problem to the idea that fixes it. Pick a connector, and drag between the two stickies.

### 4. Run the session

10. **Start a 10-minute timer.** Click **Timer, voting, and music** at the top right of the board. Type the minutes, then click **play**. Figma's help center says the timer is on any plan, and everyone in the file sees it. For 10 minutes, everyone adds stickies in silence. **New vote** in the same panel starts a voting session, which is for paid plans only, so this lesson does not use it. Click **play**.
    Set ten minutes, and click play. For ten minutes, everyone writes stickies, in silence.
11. **Mark favorites with stamps.** When the time is up, read the board out loud. Then everyone picks favorites with stamps. Click **Stamp** in the toolbar or press **E**, pick a stamp from the wheel, and click a sticky to place it. Stamps stay attached when you move the sticky. Hover a stamp to see who added it. Move the stickies with the most stamps into **Top picks**. Click the **+1** stamp.
    When time's up, read the board out loud. Then everyone stamps their favorites. The ones with the most stamps go to top picks.

### 5. Share it with the team

12. **Invite the team.** Before the meeting, move the board out of **Drafts**: the Starter plan includes one folder, and Figma's help center says a board left in Drafts can only be shared to view. Click the arrow next to the board's name, choose **Move...**, pick your folder and click **Move**. Then click **Share** at the top right. Type your teammates' emails in the invite field, set **can edit**, and click **Invite**. Figma's screenshot shows its demo company. Click the **email** field.
    First, move the board out of drafts, into your team folder. Otherwise, people can only view it.
13. **Open the link settings.** Under **Who has access**, click the row for the link audience to open **Share settings**. On the Starter plan you will see **Anyone** or **Only invited people**. The screenshot shows a company plan, so it says Anyone in Noodle Co. Click the **Who has access** row.
    Under who has access, click the link row. That opens the share settings.
14. **Let people edit.** Under **What they can do**, pick **Edit**, so people can add stickies, not just look. Anyone with the link can then change the board, so only post the link in your team's own chat. For a client, pick **View**. Then click **Save**. Click **Edit**.
    Under what they can do, pick edit. Then people can add stickies, not just look. Only share that link inside your team.
15. **Copy the link.** Click **Copy link** and post it in the team chat with the meeting time. One link, one board, every idea in one place. Click **Copy link**.
    Post it in the team chat, with the meeting time. One link, one board.

### 6. What to do next

16. **Compare the two meetings.** After the session, count again. The chat thread kept 11 of 38 ideas in a 60 minutes call. The board keeps every sticky, and Priya's target is 30 minutes, every idea on one board. Take the **Top picks** to the next meeting, each with an owner. Click the **results** card.
    After the session, count again. The chat kept eleven ideas. The board keeps every single one. Take the top picks to your next meeting, each with an owner.

## Frequently asked questions

**Is this an official Figma course?**

No. This is my own lesson. FigJam is a separate, third-party product from Figma. The screenshots come from Figma's own help center and are credited and linked under each one.

**Is FigJam free?**

Figma's help center says FigJam is on the free Starter plan. The Starter plan allows 3 FigJam files in its one folder, plus unlimited drafts. Check figma.com/pricing for current paid plans.

**Can I run a voting session on the free plan?**

No. Figma's help center says voting sessions can be started on Professional, Education, Organization and Enterprise plans. On the free plan, use stamps such as +1 to mark favorites.

**Is the FigJam timer free?**

Yes. Figma's help center says the timer is available on any team or plan, and anyone with can edit access can set it. You can set up to 99 minutes and 59 seconds.

**Why can my teammates only view the board?**

On the Starter plan, a file in Drafts can only be shared to view. Move the board into your team's folder, then share it with can edit.

**Can people without a Figma account edit the board?**

Only during an open session, which is a paid-plan feature. On the free plan, invite teammates by email so they can sign in and edit.

[Start this module free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/figjam-team-brainstorm)

- Previous in Business Automations: [Buffer: Write One Post and Schedule It to Every Channel](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/buffer-schedule-one-post-to-every-channel)

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[All 11 modules in Business Automations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/business-automations)

## Terms in this lesson

Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.

[FigJam](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/figjam) · [Customer onboarding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/customer-onboarding) · [Employee onboarding](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/employee-onboarding) · [Shared link](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/shared-link)

[The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

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