- Updated on
- By Julia
Notion is an incredibly powerful tool for organizing your life, work, and everything in between. But beyond its functionality, Notion also offers endless possibilities for creating beautiful, aesthetic dashboards that are not only functional but also fun to look at.
Whether you’re using Notion for personal projects, work tasks, or daily planning, making your dashboard visually appealing can boost your productivity and make the experience more enjoyable.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to create an aesthetic Notion dashboard that reflects your personal style and meets your organizational needs.
JUMP TO SECTION
Define Your Purpose and Style
Before diving into the design, it’s important to determine the primary purpose of your dashboard. Are you creating a personal planner, a project management hub, or a content calendar? Knowing the function of your dashboard will help you choose the right layout and design elements.
Next, decide on the aesthetic you want. Do you prefer a minimalist, clean look or something more colorful and bold? Your style will guide your choice of colors, fonts, and images.
Choose a Layout
The layout is the foundation of your dashboard. Consider how you want to organize your content. Here are a few popular layout ideas. You can choose one or combine them.
1. Grid Layout
Perfect for displaying multiple sections or categories at once, giving you a quick overview of your tasks and projects.
How to create a Grid Layout: Add a database to your page and choose the “Gallery” view. This view is naturally grid-like and will help you illustrate the grid layout effectively.
Customize the Design: Use Notion’s customization options to enhance the appearance. Add custom icons and card covers to make the grid more visually appealing.
You can see an example below from my Freelancer Dashboard. The offers are displayed in a grid view and have custom card covers.
2. Column Layout
This layout is great for dividing your dashboard into sections.
To add columns: Type “/columns” and select the number of columns you want. Then, drag and drop elements into each column to organize your content efficiently.
You can also just drag blocks side by side. For example, you can create a heading or text block, then drag another block (like an image, to-do list, or text) next to it. Notion will automatically create columns for you.
Here is an example from my Social Media Dash. There are 3 columns – an overview of the templates pages and content, an image and a database on the right.
3. List Layout
Ideal for creating a simple, clean, and easy-to-navigate dashboard.
How to create a List: You can use the “Bulleted List” or “Numbered List” blocks to create a simple, organized list. Alternatively, you can use a database with a “List” view to show a more structured list layout.
My Minimalistic Planner layout below features To Do Lists, callouts, and different types of lists.
Add Aesthetic Elements
Now comes the fun part—making your dashboard visually appealing! There are 5 key elements of Notion Page Design and Aesthetics:
1. 👍 Custom Icons
2. 📔 Page Cover and Dividers
3. 🎨 Colors and Images
4. 👒 Style your Text
5. 👩💻 Widgets and Embeds
1. Custom Icons
2. Page Cover & Dividers
Use cover images, headers and dividers to organize your content, highlight important sections or create visual separation between different areas. You can customize the size, color, and font style to match your aesthetic.
How to change your Page Cover: To add or modify a cover for a page, simply hover over the top of the page and click on “Add Cover” or “Change Cover.”
You have multiple options to personalize your covers: you can upload your own custom image, paste the URL of an image from the web, or explore a wide range of stock images available on Unsplash, directly within Notion.
3. Colors & Images
Add images to your pages that align with your theme – whether it’s cozy vibes, abstract art, or minimalist designs.
→ Cohesive Color Scheme: Stick to a cohesive color palette that matches the purpose or theme of your template. For example, use purple for a dreamy or health-related template, or green for a finance or plant-related template.
Maintain consistency by applying the same colors to all elements on each page, including images, headers, text, callouts, quotes, and more.
→ Add Images: You can upload stock photos or use keywords to search for images directly within Notion using the Unsplash integration. Use high-quality and relevant images that enhance the overall visual appeal of your template.
Below you can see my Book and Reading Tracker and some of the icons, dividers, databases and images I’ve used to spruce it up. I used brown for all headers, highlights and callout boxes.
4. Style your Text
You have several options to style your text in Notion.
Page Settings: To change the page format, click on the three dots in the top-right corner, and select “Page settings.” You have the option to customize your typography style, opt for small text, and adjust the page width.
Text Styling:
- You can make text bold, italic, strikethrough, and more.
- Create bullet points, numbered lists, and paragraphs.
- Headers: Give your information structure, context, and prioritize certain sections by using headers
- Dividers: Break up content and add a stylish touch to your page with divider lines.
- Color: Add colors or highlights to text and headers.
- Callouts: Highlight specific text or separate it from the rest of the document (e.g. add warnings or tips).
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5. Widgets & Embeds
Enhance your dashboard’s functionality and appearance by incorporating widgets and embeds. These can add both aesthetic and practical value. Some options include:
- Countdown Timers: Track deadlines with a visually appealing countdown widget.
- Weather Widgets: Add a weather widget for a quick look at the forecast.
- Calendar Embeds: Embed Calendar widgets to keep your schedule front and center.
Keep it Clean and Functional
While aesthetics are important, you also want to make sure your dashboard is functional. Keep it clutter-free by only including elements that serve a purpose.
Use white space effectively to avoid overwhelming your eyes, and ensure that your dashboard is easy to navigate.
Don’t forget to review and update your dashboard to ensure it continues to meet your needs and remains visually appealing.
Get Inspired
If you’re feeling stuck, get inspiration from the Notion community. Platforms like Pinterest, YouTube, and Reddit are filled with aesthetic Notion dashboard examples. You can also find pre-made templates that you can customize to fit your style.
Creating an aesthetic Notion dashboard is all about balancing form and function. With a clear purpose, a thoughtful layout, and carefully chosen design elements, you can build a dashboard that’s not only beautiful but also useful and inspires you every day.
Take your time to experiment with different styles, and don’t be afraid to get creative!
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