Muse — canvas for ideas for PC and Mac

Software Reviews and Criticism

• By CGunn5

  Game Changing App for Business and Life

  The team at Muse have created an incredible product oriented toward creativity and organization. The app uniquely manages to combine a blank canvas with structural organization, in turn presenting an opportunity for unrestrained thought and productivity. Never before have I been more effective in terms of idea generation and project development than I have with Muse at my disposal. In addition, the founders behind Muse have been incredible to work with. Their ability to source feedback on the product (and most importantly, act upon it) has allowed them to take a game changing application and continually improve on it. With a dynamite product and a special team committed to improvement, Muse will only get better with time. I’ll be along for the journey, and am excited to see how this app will impact others in similar ways to what it has done for me.

  
  
• By kcfg13

  Life changing

  I have ADHD, and I have always struggled to complete my readings for my classes and take effective notes. I’m also an art student and really think visually and spatially. Because of muse, for the first time in my 4 years as an undergrad, I’m getting my readings done (using side by side mode) and am able to organize my notes and ideas in a way that has really enhanced my learning experience and creative process. It’s like an extension of my brain! I also emailed the team with a question and they were quick and friendly in their reply. Thank you so much for creating this app! A few things that could be helpful in the future -Larger card space/ able to go any direction rather than just to the right (I have an iPad mini so I fill up the space quickly) -Ability to add cards within a Scribble card

  
  
• By Andrew Anonymous

  iPad at its most creative

  I was about 75 cards into Muse before the light bulb went on: This is a game-changer! Finally, an app that views the iPad not as an iPhone or laptop, but as a unique tool for creative work. A board is a Tabula Rosa where you can place and move cards, drawings, other boards, etc. The interactions are visual and tactile using fingers, the pencil and the keyboard. It took me awhile to appreciate all of the design choices as I was coming from the usual Drafts/Bear/Roam/Notion/Notes world (yeah, finding the right notes app is a quest). Muse is truly different. Now, I use Muse for the creative stuff and Notes for more quotidian needs. I'm guessing that this is still early days for Muse and that it will add features like links in future releases. The subscription prices is much less than Roam's $180/year. Given the power of Muse, you could almost say it's a bargain.

  
  
• By ARJWright

  Spatial Notes and Organization FTW

  Like many, the linear aspects of most note taking apps is fine for a bit, but doesn’t allow for enough depth once thoughts really start swirling. Having had a chance to use Muse for many months, I’m happy with the more spatial/layered flow to notes and content which makes it thru this app. Downsides have been minor (syncing between multiple iPads, some layout issues which various updates have solved), the upsides have been more than solid. This isn’t a collaborative notes app. Muse is much more geared for ideation and contemplation. To that end, it’s so focused that when it’s compared to others it seems to fall short. Yet, that that focus which makes it perfect for depth and space. Between the gestures, required Pencil aspect, and the light UI iterations, you don’t feel it’s expanding beyond your scope of use. Muse might not be for everyone (a friend puts Notion on the opposite end, another Mural/Miro). But, for whom it clicks, Muse nails this quite well. Recommended for sure. But, do the trial first... it will help you focus on what you need best from a notes app.

  
  
• By stastro

  Neat, but sub apps are such a turn off

  Rant here. I’m getting increasingly frustrated with this trend of subscription based apps. While it’s cheap on its own, the price racks up VERY quickly when you download a bunch of apps that require this subscription based model. There’s like, ten apps I really like that forces this on you, which already makes the monthly price $25-$50 for such basic apps that most people don’t use on a daily basis. We criticize Adobe for it, I don’t see why iOS apps shouldn’t be either. I’d rather pay for it once, like max $30, than be locked into a service that I don’t even use all the time. Extremely bummed by this, I want to be able to OWN the products I love to use time to time and not be forced to use it all the time to make the price somewhat worth it. This app is quite perfect for my job time to time, but there’s no way I’d use it ALL THE TIME. The sub model for this app is so overpriced for what it is. I wish I could just...buy this once. Why can’t more apps be like Procreate, buy once and done?

  
  

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