1) Today we are launching @MuseAppHQ on the iPad. It’s a tool for designers who don’t start their work in Figma, and really for any problem solvers & deep thinkers.

The user interface of Muse does a few things differently. Here are some of my favorite interactions. Thread ↓

2) Muse is all about direct interactions. You don’t have to press-and-hold before dragging a card, it can move as soon as your finger touches it. You pinch to navigate across all content in Muse. It makes a huge difference in how responsive the app feels.

3) To delete cards, you just drag them off the edge of the screen. No menus, no double tap, no are-you-sure dialogs. It’s so much more satisfying this way.

4) At any time, you can drag in a new blank board from beyond the left edge of the screen. Muse is all about not disrupting your flow, and that’s especially important when all you want is a blank canvas for the idea that just popped into your head.

5) Muse requires the Apple Pencil. We treat it as a completely separate input tool from touch.

There is no omnipresent menubar though. Instead you can drag in a tiny tool switcher with the Pencil from anywhere beyond the edge of the screen. Once you are done, just swipe it away.

6) For advanced users, Muse has another tool-switching trick. While you have one finger touching the screen, the Pencil in your other hand becomes an eraser. We much prefer these quasimodes (requiring continuous action from the user) over modes you easily get lost in.

7) You can drag out an excerpt from any selected content. Excerpts are a great way to pull together scattered but related thoughts. And Muse always keeps a reference to the source: All excerpts have a tiny button to reveal the context around them, without changing your position.

8) None of these interactions make use of cluttered menus, navigation, or toolbars. Most of the time, Muse doesn’t show any UI chrome at all! We believe the space your intimate ideas and thoughts live in should be defined by you, not by the app around it.

9) Most apps don’t take more than a few minutes to master. As a professional tool, Muse requires more commitment from new users. To make it easier, we created a video-based handbook for Muse. Manuals are often an afterthought, but we love linking to ours. http://museapp.com/handbook 

10) Muse is available now on the App Store for iPad & Apple Pencil. You can try it out with a limited number of cards, and the full version is $100 / year. It has already been incredibly valuable to me for thoughtfully designing and developing products. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-your-thinking-canvas/id1501563902#?platform=ipad