How to Make your Notion Aesthetic 101 (A Step-by-Step Tutorial for 2024)

When I began using Notion back in 2021, one of the things that bothered me was not knowing how people created those aesthetic, super cool templates that I saw on the Notion subreddit or Pinterest. You know that feeling too.

If you want to create your cool Notion template and are asking yourself, "How do I do this?" then this Notion tutorial for building an aesthetic template is what you need.

It took me years to learn all these little tricks and settings, so if you can't wait to decorate a digital space you'll love, read on.

Let's make you an "aesthetic" Notion power user today.

Want more Notion templates and updates? Join our mailing list and check out our several other Notion template round-ups! You can also check out our 99+ free templates for Notion articles, and our 55+ Aesthetic Templates for Notion articles, where you can find even more templates ready to download!

Want to make your Notion look like this? Let’s start.

Understand the Principle of “Aesthetic”

First, on all the things that make Notion Aesthetic, in my opinion, two are the most important: Visual Imagery and Layout. It is not far from what it takes to make a piece of art, or a poster, or a movie scene pleasing to see.

In the field of philosophy, aesthetics is the study of beauty, taste, and the appreciation of art. It explores how we perceive and evaluate what is considered beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. In everyday language, "aesthetic" is often used to describe something that is pleasing to see. If you don’t have familiarity with the principle of design and art, we can also define what makes something pleasing to see.

Here are some principles to keep in mind when designing your Notion Workspace:

Balance: Balance is the distribution of visual weight in a composition. A well-balanced composition will feel stable and harmonious, while an unbalanced composition will feel off-kilter and jarring. There are three main types of balance:

Unity: Unity is the overall coherence of a composition. A unified composition will feel cohesive and well-integrated, while a disunified composition will feel fragmented and disjointed. There are two main ways to achieve unity in a composition.

White space: White space is the negative space around and between elements in a composition. White space can be used to create balance, focus, and a sense of calm.

Emphasis: Emphasis is the use of visual cues to draw attention to a particular element in a composition. There are many different ways to achieve emphasis, such as using color, size, contrast, or placement.

The first three elements can be easily achieved with Page Setting, Layout in Notion, while Emphasis is where visual imagery, and choosing good, intriguing, and high-quality images can do the trick.

Understanding the principles of what it takes to make a workspace look good, you can kickstart your workspace look by focusing on choosing a theme or an aesthetic that will make the workspace look like one (yeah, that's the unity principle in place).

Choosing a Theme or Aesthetic

There are plenty of themes or aesthetics to choose from. To get some inspiration, you can go on Pinterest and type "aesthetic." Some of the most common aesthetics you may want to design your Notion page with are:

• Dark Academia
• Light Academia
• Vaporwave
• Anime
• Studio Ghibli
• Cyberpunk
• Retro
• Lo-fi
• Boho
• Nature
• Kawaii
• Psychedelic
• Space
• Cottage Core
• Gradient Aura

A stunning resource to explore a lot of themes is the Aesthetics Wiki: Aesthetics Wiki

If you don’t like any particular aesthetic, you can instead choose a seasonal theme like Winter, Spring, Halloween, Christmas, or a color theme.

Choose a Color Palette or Theme

To create an aesthetic template, you need to think like a designer. Start by choosing a theme or color palette for your aesthetic template.

Notion's color palette is limited to 9 colors for light mode and 9 colors for dark mode. While many users may wish for more customization options, it's a deliberate choice by the founders and is unlikely to change. In my opinion, working with a limited color palette makes you more creative.

You can find inspiration for your color palette on Pinterest by searching for "color palette," and you can even generate your own palette with some tools.

My favorites are:

• Coolors
• Color Hunt

Notion Color Palette

You can find the hex code of the Notion color palette here, along with an interactive tool to copy the hex color easily with our color picker.

Now that we've explored the basics of designing in Notion and chosen a theme or aesthetic, we can move into the actual customization of our workspace.

Start with a Cover

When in doubt, starting with a cover is a good way to elevate your workspace with just a click.

Add Cover to Notion

One of the best ways to enhance a boring page is to add a cover. You can choose the cover from the gallery (a selection of ready-to-use images from Notion), upload your cover (for free accounts, the limit is 5 MB), add a cover by link (super useful!), or explore royalty-free, high-quality images from the Unsplash library.

Notion Cover Resolution

When choosing a custom cover for the page, be sure to pick an image that is at least 1500px wide and 600 pixels high. Lower-resolution images will negatively impact your aesthetic. Who wants blurred or pixelated images?

A width higher than 1500px is usually unnecessary, but keep in mind that by playing with the length of the cover, you can create some unique effects, like I’ve done in my ADHD Planner.

Where to Find Cool, High-Resolution Images for Notion

There are plenty of resources online where you can find cool, high-definition images to elevate your workspace in Notion. Some of my favorite resources are:

1. Unsplash
2. Raw Pixel
3. Pexels

Note: If you choose the image from Unsplash, you don’t need to worry. The images are already high-resolution.

If you are just looking for some aesthetic images, start by typing your theme or "aesthetic." You may also find good results with these search terms:

• "leaf"
• "night sky"
• "clouds"
• "mountains"
• "building"
• "neons"
• "arcade"
• "nature"
• "gradient"
• "boho"
• "minimalist"

Adding Illustrations

You can also add illustrations as your cover. Here is a list of websites to find cool illustrations:

• Free Illustrations
• Undraw
• Icons8
• ManyPixels
• Absurd Design

Adding Animated Cover, aka Gif

Notion supports gifs! This is one of the best tricks you can use to make your workspace pop up. While it's very easy to find gifs online, it's a bit harder to find gifs large enough to fit the cover size for a Notion page. So when looking for a gif, search for landscape format, high-quality gifs.

The best place to search for gifs is Giphy, but I have had luck finding gifs on Pinterest and Tumblr as well.

Duplication of gifs is very common, and you may find that the gif you want is too small. A trick to discover if there is a higher quality version available online is to use an advanced search on Google. Click on the gif (or any image), then select "Search Image with Google". Often you can find the original source of the image, which will be of higher resolution!

What should you search for when finding cool gifs for your cover? Just type your aesthetic or the search term I mentioned before. But one of my favorite types of animated covers to add to my Notion pages is “animated pixel art”.

When you find a gif you want to use, right-click on the image and choose "Copy Image Address". Then you can paste the URL to add the cover to Notion.

TIPS: I’ve recently found a way to find gifs in the cover directly from Notion. It’s easy, go to a new Notion block and type /img to add an image, choose Giphy from the tab, and search the gif you want. After the image is correctly placed, go to the image setting (the three dots) and Click “Copy Link to the Original” Then just go back to the cover, and paste the URL there.

Reposition the Cover

If the image is tall enough, you can reposition the cover after adding it. Simply hover over the header and click "Reposition". Then, drag the cover to the desired position.

Create Your Custom Cover

If you're feeling fancy, you may also want to add a custom cover made by you. You don't need to be a designer to do that.

Some tools designed specifically for Notion are:

• Covercons: Cover cons allow you to choose a background color and simple icons. Once you've created the cover, just download it and upload it to Notion.
• Notion Cover Generator: Notion cover generator offers some additional options like adding text or adding images from Unsplash.
• Notion Covers: Notion Covers offers a set of images that you can download for free and start using.

Create Custom Cover for Notion with Canva

You can also use Canva to create your cover. If you’re not familiar with it, Canva is a free design tool that makes it super easy to design things like covers. There are plenty of templates you can start from, and you can customize everything—the color, the font, add images, icons, and everything you can think about.

How to Use it

1. Go to Canva, you need to sign up if you don’t have an account (you can use Google to enter).
2. To start from a Template with the right size and style, type “Desktop Wallpaper” (the size is 1920x1080), perfect for Notion.
3. Pick a template and start customizing it.

You can find tons of beautiful templates there, and customizing them is very easy, as Canva is super intuitive. Just give it a try!

Tips: While Canva is free, some of the assets, like fonts, icons, images are available for the Pro plan. To ensure it’s totally free, be sure to check the “Free” label when searching for fonts or assets. (Pro assets have a crown next to them

Aesthetic Free Notion Cover Pack

You can also find some cool Notion cover packs, already designed to fit your page.

100+ Aesthetic Cover Pack for Notion

Pack Available Here

From: Notionavenue

Aura Cover Pack

From: Notionavenue

Aesthetic Lofi Landscape

From: Giorgia

Pure Color Gradient

From: Giorgia

Holographic Abstract

From: Giorgia

Add Custom Icon to Notion

Gone are the days when Notion didn't have an icons set!

Now, Notion has added an icon set that you can access in the app with all of their color palettes available.

To change the icon of a Notion page, click "Add Icon." Notion will add a random emoji (there is no way to avoid this). We can choose our icon from the emoji (the emoji look will be affected by your device; I found that Mac emojis are much cooler), or we can choose from the Notion icon.

You can scroll until you find the perfect icon, or you can type to search for an icon specifically. You can change the icon's color, and you can also set a default color by turning off "Ask every time."

The third option is where things get fancy. You can add your own custom icon!

You can upload a custom icon from your computer, or you can link an online icon. That's the most efficient way to add a custom icon to Notion. When you find the icon, just copy the image address and paste it into the custom box.

Notion Animated Gif Icon

As for the cover, we can also add a GIF as our icon. You can find icon GIFs on Giphy by searching on Pinterest for "icon GIF."

Also, feel free to add squared or rounded images as your cover. The limit is the sky.

Secret tip! While you can't search directly into Giphy to change the icon, you can find Giphy images in Notion without leaving the site. How?

1. Add a new image. When adding an image block, you will be magically able to search from Giphy.
2. Insert the GIF.
3. Then, click "More Action" in the right corner of the image,
4. Select "Copy Link to Original," and next
5. Move to the page icon and paste the URL!

Adding Icon with a Path

Notion is also able to read SVG files with “path” for CSS. No need to complicate things; it basically means that you can import SVG icons directly into Notion from the web, as you would do with an image URL.

Some icon libraries allow you to do that with a click. For example, Iconhunt has an option to copy URL link (Notion). The cool thing is that you can change the color and import into Notion already customized. Quite handy.

Adding Emojis

Emojis can be added as icons for the page or inserted inline. Type ":" and start typing to find the emoji from the library. When added inline, the size of the emoji can also be increased by switching from text to heading. Emojis are related to your device, so there will be different versions for Windows and MacBook.

I prefer MacBook icons a lot, so If you are like me, and work both from Windows and Mac and want to have your emoji-like icons coherent, you can copy emoji-like images, instead of using the emoji setting (that works just for the icon, not for the inline emoji option).

To find all emojis to download, you can check out Emojipedia.

Where to Find Icons

Back then, I used to add my custom icon one at a time. That was time-consuming. I now prefer to use the native icon set, but still, sometimes I like to add some custom color. These are the websites that I used and recommend:

1. Iconhunt: Previously Notion icon! This is a database of over 175,000 open-source vector icons. The cool thing is that you can pick the icon color and use it without having to download it, just by copying the link for Notion and pasting the link from the custom mode.
2. Icon8 is one of the most impressive libraries of icons. There are icons for any taste, super unique icons and emoji, and also animated icons. To use one of these icons, you just need to right-click on the icon and copy the image address.
3. Simple.ink offers icons specifically for Notion. You can search their library, select the color, change the size, and then copy the URL.
4. Notion Icons 3D is another cool tool for Notion icons. I'm personally in love with this library of 3D, gradient-themed icon sets.

Note: The icon from Notion will switch automatically if you switch modes. If you add a black icon in light mode, it will switch to a white icon when you go to dark mode. Other icons from the web will not automatically switch, so if you plan to use both modes and you want to use your custom icon, my advice will be to choose gray as your color so that it will be readable in both modes.

Using Notion icons is the best way to keep your page optimized for both dark and light modes.

Use Pre-made Templates

The quickest way to have an aesthetic Notion page is not to build it, but to use templates! Templates are a great way to kickstart your Notion journey. Not only do you not need to start from scratch by using pre-made templates, but you can also learn more about what makes a good Notion template and level up your design skills.

Free Aesthetic Icon Pack for Notion

Cinema Pack

Grab for free here

90’s Anime Icon Pack

Pack Available Here

By: Notionavenue

Studio Ghibli Icon Pack

Pack Available Here

2YK Icon Pack

Pack Available Here

Plant Aesthetic Folder Icon Pack

Pack Available Here

Totoro Folder Icon Pack

Pack Available Here

Cute Froggy Icon Pack

Pack Available Here

Create your Aesthetic Icon in Notion

So, what’s about creating your unique icon? As any image can be turned into an icon for Notion (it’s just needed to have the right size and format), you can try to make your own. You can use Canva. The only limit is that you can only create a full non-transparent image for it, as exporting with a transparent background is a pro option.

Create your Aesthetic Icon with Canva

1. Go to Canva
2. Type Icon and Pick IOS Icon
3. Open the template that you want
4. Change the size to 280x280 (for optimal result)
5. Customize the icon.
6. Export your image

If you want to have your icon with a transparent background, here's a trick. After you’ve downloaded your image with a white background, we can remove it.

Go to https://removal.ai/upload/

Upload your icon, and continue to remove the background. Download the icon; you’re ready to go!

Format and Size of Notion Custom Icon

The suggested dimension for a custom icon in Notion is 280x280px with a max size of 5 MB (for free users). The format can be .png, .jpg, .gif

Aesthetic Notion Icon Pack

Another way to give emphasis to your Notion workspace is by using custom dividers.

Use Divider Blocks

Besides the standard line divider, you can also add an inline divider with a custom color. Inline dividers use LaTeX and equations and can be used to create custom-colored dividers.

You can use this code:

$$\color{red}\rule{5000px}{3px}$$

Change the color by replacing "red" with the name or the hex code. You can also change the width and the height.

Aesthetic Notion Dividers

Alternatively, you can add image dividers or create your own. You can make dividers with free design apps like Canva or Figma.

Notion Divider Size

A good size for Notion Dividers is 2000px (to cover the width of most devices) and from 50 to 150 pixels of height.

As you probably guessed, you can create your divider with Canva too.

Search for Line, or divider, or look for patterns and duplicate them to create cool dividers.

Here are some examples of Dividers you can create with Canva.

Tips: If you use dark mode and you want your divider to have a transparent background, just follow the same steps for removing the background from the icons

Create Washi Tape Divider for Notion

What about washi tape? Digital washi tape can also add a touch of creativity and personalization to Notion pages and other projects.

The sizes on paper are usually 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 30mm, and 32mm. So in pixels, it will be something between 37px to 120px.

So a good in-between size will be 50-100px.

Ok now, let’s create the washi tape with Canva.

1. Create a new document with size 2000x100px.
2. Type washi paper.
3. Add one element and then duplicate it enough times to cover all the width.
4. Arrange the elements so the transition between each design is smooth enough.

Where to Find Divider and Washi Tape For Notion

Here are some good places to find ready-to-use images for your workspace.

Search for “Washi Tape,” “Divider,” “Decorative Line.”

• Vecteezy

Add Digital Sticker to Notion

As the bullet journal and digital journal enthusiast lover will know, adding some stickers really helps add visual interest to your page and can also be a way to remember stuff.

There's no reason why you can’t include digital stickers in Notion too. You just need to add images with a transparent background, and you're ready to go!

Where to Find Digital Stickers for Notion

You can find free cute digital stickers on Gumroad, Vecteezy, or Freepik.com. Or you can create your own with Canva.

Most are pretty basic, but you can find good quality packs on Etsy, Creative Market, Gumroad, or Creative Fabrica.

Free Retro Cute Sticker

Grab it for free here

Embed Media with Notion

Another cool thing that you can do with Notion is to embed media elements.

We can add videos or images, and there is a quick way to add characters to your page and design a dashboard with a specific theme.

The other thing that you can add to Notion is widgets.

Adding Notion Widgets

Widgets are little interactive tools that you can embed in your Notion page. You can move them around and add them as you would do with any type of block. You can also resize them.

Widgets can be things like a clock, calendar, quotes, calculator, or timer. But the limit is the sky, as any kind of simple web app can be embedded and used from Notion.

Exclusive Aesthetic Notion Widgets for You by Me

Notion Dog Companion Aesthetic Widget

Bring some joy to your Notion workspace with a super cute widgets that nobody has. Doggo is a interactive puppy animation, designed for Notion. The puppy follow the mouse and respond to click. It's optimized for both dark mode and light mode.

You can grab it for free here.

Where to Find Notion Widgets

Here! I’ve created and curated some of the best Widgets for Notion. I’ve included guides and easy-to-access links to copy and paste inside Notion, so you don’t have to do the hassle yourself.

Visit all Notion Widgets Here.

Minimalist & Aesthetic Custom Notion Widgets

Currently, I have designed a customizable Pomodoro timer, a digital clock, and a stopwatch. You can find them here. These templates are customizable with Notion Color Palette so they can fit perfectly into your workspace theme.

Notion Pomodoro Timer

Pomodoro timer

Aesthetic Notion Clock

Available Here

Notion Stopwatch

Available Here

Other Notion Widgets

Here are some other websites where you can find customizable widgets. Most of them are free to use, but have a limit on the number of widgets you can have at once:

• Indify
• Widgetbox
• Apption
• Kairo

Adding Chart in Notion

If you're familiar with Excel and spreadsheets, you may find Notion lacking the features to visualize data in a chart. Luckily, there are some tools that can add this feature to Notion.

However, most of these apps only allow for one chart, and if you want more, you'll need to pay for a membership. Here are some options:

• Notion2Charts offers one free chart, with unlimited charts for $3 per month.
• Nochart offers two free charts, 10 charts for $4.99, and unlimited charts for $9.99.

Other Embeds

Some other common embeds that you may want to try are Spotify playlists, Pinterest boards, and Google Calendar.

Add a Spotify Playlist

Adding a Spotify playlist is pretty easy.

1. Go to https://open.spotify.com/.
2. Find a playlist that you want to include.
3. Click the three dots to open the settings.
4. Click Share > Copy the link to the playlist.
5. Paste the link to Notion.
6. Choose Create Embed.
7. Done!

Note: When you add a Spotify playlist, only a preview is available. There is no way to have the full playlist inside Notion with Spotify.

But! There are other music players that allow you to do that. Here the one that is life-changing.

Adding Unlimited Music to Notion

To do so, just head to Soundcloud. You can embed any playlist from there, and it’s actually going to play with any limit. No preview, the full song!

To embed a SoundCloud track into Notion, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the SoundCloud track you want to embed.
2. Copy the embed code from the "Share" menu.
3. Paste the embed code into a Notion page or block.

Get it Here

Add a Pinterest Board to Norion

Another cool embed is Pinterest board.

1. Go to Pinterest.com.
2. Open a board.
3. Next to the title of the board, there is a three-dot icon.
4. Click it to open Board Options.
5. Select Share > Copy Link.
6. Paste in Notion > Create Embed.
7. Enjoy!

Add a Google Calendar Widget to Notion

How to Integrate Google Calendar in Notion

If you are wondering, yeah, you can embed your Google Calendar into Notion. However, there are some limitations. The main one is that the calendar cannot be edited from Notion, nor can it sync between Google and Notion. An embedded Google calendar is basically a read-only view of your calendar.

You can go to Indify to create an embeddable Google Calendar widget.

That’s been a ride! I’ve think I’ve covered all visual elements you can add in Notion, now, let’s go back to the basic, and build the foundation of our aesthetic Notion Workspace.

The Basics: Layout and Page Settings

When it comes to designing tools that look good, don't discount the basics. So, in the first part of your guide, we're going to explore the basic layout and page settings of Notion that can transform your workspace.

Dark Mode & Light Mode

After the visual elements, the light mode of Notion can make a huge difference in the mood, theme, or aesthetic of your workspace. Notion has two modes: Light mode and Dark Mode.

You can switch between the two seamlessly with the shortcut (CTRL+SHIFT+L for Windows or Command+SHIFT+L for Mac) or you can set the mode from the general setting.

To switch to dark mode:

1. Open the app, and in the lateral bar.
2. Click on "Settings & Members."
3. A menu will open; in the left menu, locate and click on "My Notifications & Settings."
4. Navigate to My Settings > Appearance.
5. From here, you can select Light, Dark, or Use Device Default as the default mode.

Pro Tips: When adding visual elements, like images or dividers, be sure to have a transparent background if you want to use Notion with Dark Mode. Otherwise, with a white border around your sticker and divider, all efforts to make Notion Aesthetic will be gone!

Change Notion Workspace and User Profile Image

Adding a custom profile image to your Notion account is a simple process that can be done in just a few steps. Here's how to do it:

1. Open Notion and click on your profile icon in the top left corner.
2. Select "Settings & members" from the dropdown menu.
3. Click on "My account" in the left sidebar.
4. Click on the "Upload photo" button.
5. Choose the file you want to use from your computer and click "Open."
6. Your custom profile image will be uploaded and displayed.
7. Click on "Update" to save your changes.

Change Notion Workspace Icon

Changing the workspace icon in Notion is a straightforward process that allows you to personalize your workspace with a customized image or emoji. Here's how to do it:

1. Open Notion and click on the "Settings & members" icon in the top left corner.
2. In the left sidebar, select the "Settings" tab.
3. Locate the "Workspace" section and click on the workspace icon.
4. You have two options for changing the icon: choose an emoji from the emoji picker or upload your own image.
5. If you choose to use an emoji, click on the desired emoji and then click "Update."
6. To upload your own image, click on the "Upload photo" button, select the image from your computer, and then click "Open."
7. Ensure the image is a square format with dimensions of 280 x 280 pixels or smaller for optimal display.
8. Click "Update" to apply the changes and save your new workspace icon.

Be mindful of the Page Width

By default, Notion pages are not in full width. That means all the content is centered on the page. This can be good for some designs, but more often than not, we need to toggle the full width. You can do so from the settings of each single page.

Unfortunately, you can’t set the full width as default. So arm yourself with patience on this. If you create a table database and you're annoyed by the grey scroll, the best solution is to activate full width.

How to Change to Full Width to Notion Pages

Changing to full width in Notion is a quick and easy way to make your pages more visually appealing and easier to read. Here's how to do it:

1. Open the Notion page that you want to set to full width.
2. Click on the three dots menu icon in the top right corner of the page.
3. Select "Page Settings" from the dropdown menu.
4. Toggle the "Full width" switch to the on position.
5. The page will now stretch to fill the entire width of your browser window.

How to Change to Full Width Page in Database

You can also set all new pages of a database to full width by default. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Create an inline database with /database in the Notion editor.
2. Click on the "Create a template" button.
3. Follow the steps above to set the template page to full width.
4. Give the template a name, such as "Full Width Template."
5. Exit the template editing mode.
6. Click on the blue "New" menu in your database menu.
7. Set the template you just created as the default template.
8. Create a new item in your database.
9. Your new page will now be full width.

Typography on Notion

Typography is a huge element of every product or web design, and Notion is no different. While we are far from the customization of a word processor or design app, we can still do a lot with Notion's options. We can pick the font size, change the font style, change the font color, and also add custom fonts.

Let’s unpack this.

Notion Font Size

Notion has two size options for the font: Small and Normal. Normal is, of course, the default for all pages, but you can switch to Small Text from the page setting (just below the Full Width option).

Another way to change the font size is to zoom the page. That, of course, will not only increase the font size but the whole page, so be aware of this.

Change Notion Font Family

Notion doesn't work like a word processor where you can choose your favorite font. You can only choose from three font families: Default (a sans-serif font), Serif, and Mono Font. You can change the font for one page, but you cannot change the font for all pages at once.

Some advice for Aesthetic

In typography, each font family comes with a different mood and is able to evoke different feelings.

Serif fonts have little decorative flourishes at the ends of the strokes of their letters. These serifs are thought to make text more readable, especially at smaller sizes. Serif fonts are often used for body text in books and magazines, as well as for headlines and titles.

Psychology: Traditional, Respectable, Reliable, Elegant, Sophisticated.

Best for aesthetics like: Feminine, That Girl, Academia, Boho, Cottage Core

Sans-serif fonts do not have serifs. They are often considered to be more modern and minimalist than serif fonts, and they are used for headlines, signage, and websites. This is the default font on Notion.

Psychology: Modern, minimalist, clean, simple, friendly, approachable

Best for aesthetics like: Minimalist, Anime, Space, Bahaus, Designer, Futuristic

Monospaced fonts have the same width for each character, regardless of the character. This makes them easy to read, especially for coding and programming.

Psychology: Functional, precise, technical, structured, organized.

Best for aesthetics like: 2YK, Retro, Pixel Art, Videogame, Hacker, (Also popular for pastelcore, kawaii)

How to Change Font Style in Notion

Notion offers three font styles: Default, Serif, and Mono. You can choose from these three styles to change the overall font on your page. Here's how to do it:

1. Open the Notion page you want to change the font style for.
2. Click on the three dots (...) in the top right corner of the page.
3. In the "Style" section, select the desired font style: Default, Serif, or Mono.

The font style will be applied to all the text on your page.

Font Size and Heading in Notion

Besides the previous settings, Notion does offer a way to change the text size with Headings. Headings come in 3 sizes: H1, H2, H3 in decreasing order.

Headings are not just a way to change the font size, but as headings. For example, if you export your Notion page, the headings will be exported correctly too.

Also, when you add headings, you can easily navigate to the headings by adding a Table of Content.

Using different headings ensures your page content is easy to navigate and also improves balance.

Font Color

Changing the font color is pretty intuitive; you can do that from the menu or from the nav bar.

Text Alignment

Notion doesn't offer an option to align text. If you come across a dashboard or template with a centered title, the trick is to add space before the title to center it.

Custom Decorative Font in Notion

But, I have seen people using unique fonts on their Notion page! You said you can't choose the font, were you lying? Lol. Actually, there is a trick to replicate the custom font you've seen around, and this is by using inline equations, the LaTeX formula, or symbols. With this trick, you can use different fonts, such as Gothic, Chalkboard, and Calligraphy. If you're familiar with Instagram and custom fonts, it's the same here.

The best use of this decorative font is for headers and titles, as it would be pretty hard to manage as your default text.

I explain how to use custom fonts with LaTeX and inline equations in this article in-depth. You can learn more about custom fonts in this in-depth article: How to Customize Notion Fonts

Here are the principles:

To add a custom color code to your text, you need to add an equation block. To add one, use the slash command "/" to add a new block and type "Inline Equation" for an inline equation or "Block Equation" for a block equation.

Math equations can be added as "Inline" or "Block" as shown above.

You can also add an inline equation seamlessly while you are typing on Notion by typing $$ before and after the equation. You can define the color as a hex code like "F15A22"; you can find color expressed in hex code by looking into this website. As inline equations have a different default font, the style of the text will also change. You can learn how to customize the font with math equations in this article. Using simple variables, we can set custom colors for the text and background. At the end of the equation, after the text and background colors, we can add the text we want to show.

Inline Formula for Custom Text Color

\color{#FFFFF}{Your Text}

The math equation for custom text color is \color{colorname}{text}

Custom Background color in Notion

\colorbox{#FFFFF}{Your Text}

The equation formula for custom color block is \colorbox{color}{text}

Custom Background and Text in Notion

\color{#272727}\colorbox{#838383}{Your Text.}

Change both color and background of a text with the formula \color{textcolorname}\colorbox{backgroundcolorname}{your text}

Use a Font Generator

Another way to add custom font text is to use a font generator. You’ll mainly get access to the same options as the inline equation, as both use Latex Symbol.

That's pretty easy. Open one font generator, and enter your text. You'll see all the different styles of text you can achieve. Then, copy and paste it into Notion.

• LingoJam
• Fancy Text Pro
• Font Generator by Picsart

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Example of Decorative Text in Notion

Gothic, Black Letter

𝔏𝔢𝔱'𝔰 𝔟𝔲𝔦𝔩𝔡 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫!

𝕷𝖊𝖙'𝖘 𝖇𝖚𝖎𝖑𝖉 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓!

Cursive Font

𝓛𝓮𝓽'𝓼 𝓫𝓾𝓲𝓵𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓝𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷!

𝐿𝑒𝓉'𝓈 𝒷𝓊𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒩𝑜𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃!

Chalkboard Font

𝕃𝕖𝕥'𝕤 𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟!

Small Font

ʟᴇᴛ'ꜱ ʙᴜɪʟᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ɴᴏᴛɪᴏɴ!

Text Inside Box

🄻🄴🅃'🅂 🄱🅄🄸🄻🄳 🅆🄸🅃🄷 🄽🄾🅃🄸🄾🄽!

Sans-Serif Font

𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!

Serif-Font

𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

Mono Font

𝙻𝚎𝚝'𝚜 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗!

Notion Layout 101

Ok, now let's talk about Notion Layout and how you can take advantage of the block system to create any layout you want in Notion.

Notion Columns

Let's start with columns. If you are new to Notion, you may not know that in Notion, you can arrange blocks (the basic unit of Notion) next to one another, and by doing so, you can create columns and grids on the page.

Creating columns is pretty easy. After creating a new block (like a text block or an image block), you can select it and drag and drop it to arrange it on the page. When moving your block, a blue line will appear to guide you or show where you can move the block. If we move the block to the side and drop it, we can create a new column.

Let's start by entering some text. When we press Enter, the block automatically adds below the previous one.

A trick to see how the layout is working is to select the block that you've created. When you select the block, it turns blue, and you can see the structure of the blocks.

Now, to make a column, let's select the second row "Column 2". While holding the mouse, we drag and drop and position it next to the other row "Column 1".

If we highlight again, we can see that we've created two columns!

In Notion, you can create as many columns as you want. You can achieve this by repeating the drag and drop to add more columns, or you can also start with the column first by typing "/column".

The result is the same.

You may be thinking that when you create some columns, you are constrained by them. So, on the same page, you can't have a different number of columns in different rows. But that's not how Notion works!

In every row, you can add as many columns as you can fit. So, for example, we can have a row with two columns, and the next row with three or four columns. So, you can create any kind of layout and grid in Notion.

After creating new columns, you can also resize them. Locate the end of the block, a vertical line will signal it, move the line to resize it according to your preference.

But what about databases? Can I create columns with those too? Yes, you can, but if you try to replicate the steps for the text block, you may find that this does not work. The solution is to first create the column, and then drag and drop the database to fit the column.

Use Divider Blocks

Another great way to organize your Notion page is by using dividers. You can add a default divider line by typing "—" and pressing enter.

Create Visual Blocks

There are several ways to add visual blocks, and one of the best is by using callouts.

Using Callouts in Notion

Callouts are like magic blocks in Notion. They can contain any other block and can be used not only to "wrap" some content but also to change the color of the block contained.

You can add a callout by typing "/callout".

Callouts can be moved around to create layouts, columns, and grids. The background can be customized, and you can also add an icon or emoji, as we did on the icon page. When inserted in a colored callout, the block color will change as well. This works with every block, even databases.

Callouts have a title line where you can just have text, and then a content part where you can nest any block you want.

Having said that, it's obvious why callouts can be such a crucial part of creating an aesthetic page. You can also nest callouts inside callouts and set different colors for all of them.

Some tricks you may not be aware of are that you can hide the icon of the callout by replacing the existing one with a transparent PNG, and if you don't want the title in the callout, just add a blank space.

You can learn more about callouts in this in-depth guide.

Create a Column inside Callouts

While it is possible to create a column inside a callout, it is not always intuitive how to achieve this. When you move a block inside a callout, you may find that you cannot easily drag and drop a block to create a column. If you try to create a column outside the callout and drag it in, the column layout will be lost. The best way to achieve this is to first create a column inside the callout and then move the block inside the callout.

Alternatively, you can create two blocks inside the callout, then select them and from the menu select "Turn Into > Column".

How to Make Database in Notion Aesthetic

Databases are a key element of Notion, but many users don't give them enough care when creating an aesthetic workspace. Let's explore how you can customize databases to make them visually appealing.

Add Icon to Database Page in Notion

One of the latest updates from Notion allows you to replace the icon of the database view. To change the database view icon:

1. Click on the "View" tab.
2. Click on "Rename" next to the view you want to customize.
3. Change the icon by selecting from the available Notion icons.
4. You can also rename the view if you wish.

Additionally, you can change the property icon for each item in your database. Open the database page, click on the item, and add a custom icon.

To add icons to all your database pages automatically, create a template:

1. Next to the "New" button, click the arrow.
2. Click "Create new template" and add the icon.
3. Set the template as default.

Now, all pages inserted will have that icon.

To bulk change icons of the database pages:

1. Select all pages by clicking next to the title property.
2. Click the three dots icon from the menu.
3. Go to the icon and set the custom icon (only emoji and icons can be bulk edited).

Improve the View Aesthetic of Database

Change the icon of your database view, and you can leave the title empty or add an emoji or symbol to it. To leave the title empty, just type a blank space. To add an emoji or symbol, copy and paste it into the title using tools like Emojipedia or Cool Symbols.

Change Database Background Color in Notion

For inline databases, you can change the background color in two ways:

1. Wrap the database in a colored callout.
2. Insert the database inside a colored toggle.

Master the Notion Gallery View

Utilize the gallery view for an aesthetic page. The gallery block displays database items as cards with interactive and clickable elements. You can add an image to each gallery card. To make the gallery view effective:

1. Add Cover Image to Database Page: Change the card view to show the cover of the page instead of the content. Add a cover image to the database page.
2. Use File & Media Property: Add a "File & Media" property for each cover set. Add images for each theme. Switch to gallery view, set the card preview to the theme, and easily switch between them.

You can add multiple covers to the gallery view, making it dynamic and visually appealing.

Remember that you can add GIFs to these covers, allowing for more dynamic and engaging aesthetics.

Native Progress Bar Notion

Native formulas can be shown in a progress bar or a circle bar, and you can also change the color according to the Notion Color Palette.

If you want a minimalist look, opt for the grey color. Green and brown work well with cozy or feminine layouts, while purple and orange, being the most intense, can be a good choice for more modern and colorful designs.

Aesthetic Notion Formulas

Formulas can be daunting at first, but fortunately, you don't need to be a programmer to learn how to use some of them. One of the most common and visually appealing formulas is the progress formula. Although Notion has not yet released a native formula option, you can still add your own custom formulas to make your workspace stand out!

For more information on the progress bar formula, check out Red Gregory's article here.

Aesthetic Progress Bar for Notion

Check all Aesthetic Progress Bars for Notion Here

Before the native progress bar in Notion, users found a unique way to create them. And most of them still look pretty good because they are actually customizable with any type of Unicode or symbol. The combination and style of progress bars using the formula are pretty huge compared to the limit of the native one.

Here some Aesthetic Progress Bar with Code you Can Try

Minimalist Aesthetic

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Colorful Progress Bar Rainbow Notion

This is a bit more complicated, but it can be done with a bit of effort.

You can grab the free template with all the formulas for the rainbow progress bar here.

The method used by this user Productivity Corner uses unicode symbols, so it’s super easy to change or replace with your own progress bar.

Leverage Buttons

Another amazing new update from Notion is buttons. Buttons allow you to extend the capabilities of Notion by starting simple automation with a click.

To create a button, you just need to type "/button".

You can use buttons to quickly log tasks or ideas, or to track your habits more easily.

You can add an icon or an emoji for each button, and you can also add an empty space to remove the text.

Finishing Touch

Comment and Backlinks Visibility

Depending on your page, you may have comments and backlinks that show up. This can interfere with the aesthetics of your template. The good news is that we can easily hide both comments and backlinks.

Simply open the page settings and click on "Customize Page".

Turn off the options for top-level discussion, comments, and backlinks to hide them.

This setting will only be applied to the current page, so you will need to do this for all your pages. I always hide comment and backlink visibility in most of my Notion Templates, and I must say that it really improves and creates a cleaner look. Most professional creators don't even know about this.

Add your Notion Style Avatar

A cool finishing touch to add to your workspace is a profile image for your workspace.

Here are some places where you can find and create your Notion style Avatar:

1. Open Peeps
2. Drawkit
3. Figma Community Library
4. Freepik
5. Notion Avatar

How to Make Your Notion Aesthetic in 10 Steps

Want a quick guide on how to make Notion Aesthetic?

Follow these 10 steps.

1. Master the Layout: Grasp the basics of page layout, including adding multiple columns, aligning elements, and adjusting spacing for a clean and organized appearance.
2. Hide Clutter: Eliminate distractions by hiding comments and backlinks, ensuring a clutter-free workspace. Embrace the minimalist aesthetic of Notion by utilizing Dark Mode for a more serene and calming experience.
3. Customize Font Elevate your text with customized fonts, experimenting with font size, styles, and even incorporating your favorite fonts using font generators.
4. Color Harmony: Choose a cohesive color palette or theme that resonates with your personal style and the purpose of your page. Utilize resources like Coolors and Pinterest to discover inspiring color combinations. Use our Notion Color Picker to easily find the hex code of Notion elements.
5. Visual Appeal with Cover Images: Enhance your page's aesthetic by adding high-quality cover images. Explore animated covers on Giphy or discover breathtaking free wallpapers on Unsplash to set the mood.
6. Add Unique Icons: Elevate your page with custom icons. Browse Iconhunt or Icon8 to find animated or static icons that perfectly complement your theme.
7. Use Visual Block: Utilize Notion's variety of visual blocks to break up content and add visual interest. Add colored callouts to wrap databases and content, and incorporate custom line dividers to create separation and hierarchy.
8. Use the Gallery view: Transform your databases into visually appealing galleries. Switch your database from table view to gallery view and customize the card preview to showcase images and enhance the visual experience.
9. Add Unique Widgets: Elevate your Notion pages with functional and aesthetic widgets. Embed widgets like a Pomodoro Timer to enhance productivity, a Digital Clock for timekeeping, or a Stopwatch for precise timing.
10. Add media: Embed media to bring your Notion pages to life. Share inspiring videos from YouTube, immerse yourself in playlists from Spotify, and pin captivating boards from Pinterest.
11. Include Buttons: Enhance user experience with functional and aesthetically pleasing buttons. Utilize the button feature to create action links, add to-do items, or trigger specific actions within Notion.

Frequently Asked Question

Where to Find Aesthetic Notion Templates?

There are several ways to find aesthetic Notion templates. Here are a few of the most popular options:

• Explore Notion Avenue Templates: Explore our free and premium Notion Template Gallery to Find uninuqe, mindful designed aesthetic template for you.
• Read Notion Avenue Blog: We write a weekly template roundup to showcase the most useful and aesthetic templates for any use.
• Browse the Notion Template Gallery: Notion has a built-in template gallery where you can search for templates by category, topic, and aesthetic.
• Use a template marketplace: There are several websites that offer a curated selection of Notion templates, such as Etsy and Creative Market
• Follow Notion experts: Many Notion experts create and share their templates on social media or their websites. You can find them by following hashtags like #notiontemplate and #aestheticnotion.
• Search for specific templates: If you're looking for a particular type of template, you can search for it using keywords like "study planner template" or "project management template."

Are Aesthetic Notion Templates Free?

Yes, there are many free aesthetic Notion templates available online. I've curated some of the best free aesthetic templates in this article, and you can also find

How to Make Notion Look Pretty ?

Making Notion look pretty involves a combination of design principles, customization options, and a touch of personal creativity.  This guide covered all of them!

Conclusion

Making your Notion page aesthetically pleasing involves using a combination of visual elements, such as cover images, icons, and callouts. You can also add functional elements, such as databases and formulas. With the tips and tools provided in this tutorial, you can take your Notion pages to the next level and create a workspace that is both beautiful and efficient.

Don't forget to experiment and have fun with the different options available, and don't be afraid to customize and create your own unique style.

Happy Notion-ing!