Design a Brilliant Fishbone Diagram Online
Fishbone diagram maker features
Use Canva to build a brilliant fishbone diagram for organizing your thoughts, brainstorming or solving complex problems.
More than 20 professional types of graphs to choose from
Professionally designed templates to fast-track your workflow
Data visualization made easy – no complicated software to learn
Publish, share or download your high-resolution fishbone diagram
Embed your concept map in presentations, reports and more with no fuss
Easy drag-and-drop tools, made with the non-designer in mind
How to make a fishbone diagram
- Step 1Launch Canva - Open Canva and search for "Fishbone Diagram" to start your design project.
- Step 2Choose a fishbone diagram template - Explore our fishbone diagram templates and choose the design that best applies to the problem you're analyzing. The filters also make it easier for you to find the perfect fishbone design. Click on your chosen template.
- Step 3Add your data - Fill each section of the fishbone diagram. Start at the head of the fish, where you'll put the main issue or problem. Then on each of the fish bones, add causes and supporting details. If you're brainstorming with your team, send them a link to your fishbone diagram template so you can work together.
- Step 4Customize your fishbone diagram template - Once the fishbone's filled, personalize the template. Change the color scheme if you want to use your brand colors. You can also choose a professional typeface from our massive font library. If you ran out of space, just add more text boxes or duplicate any of the existing fishbones. Lastly, insert free illustrations and stock photos to add context to your fishbone diagram.
- Step 5Download and share - Save your fishbone diagram as a PNG, JPG, or PDF and add it to your projects. You can put the diagram on your Canva Docs, reports, presentations, and more. You can also share the diagram with teammates via social media or email, with just one click.
Brainstorm problems effectively with a fishbone diagram made with Canva
Whether you’re a student, a researcher or manager, understanding and addressing problems is part and parcel of your job. One of the most effective ways to understand and solve problems is with a fishbone diagram, which takes into account all the possible factors causing the issue. Also known as the Ishikawa diagram or cause and effect diagram, it’s a great tool for visualizing possible causes to problems and figuring out their solutions.
Creating fishbone diagrams can not only be fiddly, it can also be time-consuming, but with Canva, you can complete a fishbone diagram in just minutes. There’s no need to waste time building and designing a fishbone diagram from scratch. Simply choose from one of our professionally designed templates and populate it with text. It’s really that easy!
Tweak your fishbone diagram to suit your needs
- Change the images. Upload your own images or choose from our stock library of over 1 million photographs, graphics and illustrations.
- Change the fonts. Choose from over 130 fresh fonts.
- Change the background. Choose a background from our library or use an image.
- Change the colors. Change the color of your text boxes and text to add extra flair.
Work out problems with a well-defined diagram
Fishbone diagrams are usually created from right to left. Start by picking out a pre-made template to customize. Begin at the “head” at the far end by adding the main issue or problem then work your way down the spine to add the causes and possible solutions.
You can keep adding more branches as you go along. Just click on one of the lines or arrows then click on the “Copy” button on the toolbar or simply hold Cmd/Ctrl+C and Cmd/Ctrl+V to copy and paste as many lines as needed. You can even color code each of the main cause and its branches. Just click on an element or text, then use the color wheel tool on the toolbar to pick a new hue.
Use typography to make your fishbone diagrams clear and readable
Using the right fonts is crucial to ensuring your fishbone diagram is easily readable. Thankfully, Canva gives you access to over a hundred free fonts you can choose from, mix and match. Try using a bold or heavy type font like Raleway to jot down your main problem then use a lighter font type like Open Sans Light to identify the causes or details of the problem.
You can also change the color of text, backgrounds and design elements to reflect your company’s look and feel. If you are a Canva Pro subscriber you can also upload your own custom fonts and apply them to any of your designs for a cohesive and professional look.
Share and collaborate without scheduling meetings
It’s common for fishbone diagrams to be a collaborative process but in a busy workplace it can be hard to gather people into a room to brainstorm and solve a problem. With Canva you can simply share your design, give the necessary people editing access, and have them populate their own branches in the diagram. This way progress doesn’t slow down and you can keep things moving.
Need to design on the go? Download our apps for your iPhone, iPad or Android devices from the App Store and Google Play for free.
Fishbone diagram templates
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Frequently Asked Questions
To resize a shape or line in your fishbone diagram, first click on the shape or line you want to resize. A dotted outline with 4 circles on each corner will appear around the element. Click, hold and drag on any of the 4 circles to resize your shape or line. You might also need to zoom in on an element such really thin lines to make adjusting it easier. Once you’re happy with the new shape or line size, release the circle.
All of the layouts in our library are free to use as many times as you like. There are also a large range of free images to choose from, otherwise all premium photography, vectors and illustrations in our stock library is all priced at just $1. There are no other fees to use Canva.
You can edit and save your fishbone diagrams as many times as you like. Every time you create a new design, it will appear in the “My Designs” section of your Canva homepage. You can also access and edit all of your designs by adding Canva to your iPhone, iPad or Android devices. It’s free to download from the App Store and Google Play.
