Notion: All-in-One Workspace for Design Teams

Notion is a flexible workspace that combines notes, docs, wikis, databases, and project management into a single tool. Instead of jumping between Google Docs, Trello, and Confluence, everything lives in Notion. Designers use it to document design decisions, track projects, build knowledge bases, and collaborate with product teams in one shared space.

Key Specs

How Designers Use Notion

Notion’s flexibility means designers apply it to different parts of their workflow. Here’s where it fits.

Design Documentation

Build a living design system doc with pages for components, patterns, and guidelines. Embed Figma frames to show examples inline. Link related pages together so team members can navigate from a component doc to its usage guidelines to real examples. Notion’s nested page structure works well for complex systems that need multiple levels of organization.

Project Tracking

Create a database to track design projects with custom properties for status, priority, designer, and deadline. Switch between views: kanban for active work, calendar for scheduling, gallery for portfolio reviews. Filter by designer or status to see your own workload. Each project card links to a full page with specs, feedback, and file links.

Personal Knowledge Base

Save design articles, inspiration screenshots, and research findings in a personal database. Tag everything by topic (typography, color, animation) and medium (article, video, case study). When you need inspiration for a project, search your archive. Notion becomes your external brain for design knowledge that would otherwise scatter across bookmarks and screenshots.

Team Wikis

Build a central hub for design team operations. Include pages for onboarding new designers, brand guidelines, tool documentation, and meeting notes. Link pages liberally so information connects naturally. When someone asks “Where’s the brand color palette?” they know to check the wiki first.

Notion vs. Alternatives

How does Notion compare to other documentation and productivity tools?

Choose Notion if: You want flexibility to structure information your way and need databases for tracking projects or resources.

Choose Confluence if: You’re in a large organization already using Atlassian tools and need enterprise-grade permissions.

Choose Coda if: You need powerful formulas and automation between databases, and think of docs as apps.

Choose Obsidian if: You want local files, offline work, and don’t need team collaboration features.

Choose Google Docs if: You only need simple documents with real-time editing and nothing more.

Getting Started with Notion

A 20-minute quick start to build your first workspace:

Step 1: Create your first page

Click “+ Add a page” in the sidebar. Give it a name and choose a layout (empty, database, or template). Press / on any line to see the block menu: headings, images, embeds, databases, and more. Everything in Notion is made of blocks you can drag to rearrange.

Step 2: Build a simple database

Type /table to create a table database. Add properties by clicking “+” in the header: select, date, person, URL, etc. Each row becomes a clickable page where you can add full documentation. Click “Layout” to switch from table to kanban, calendar, or gallery view. Same data, different perspectives.

Step 3: Embed external content

Paste a Figma link on a new line and select “Create embed” from the menu. The prototype appears inline. This works for hundreds of services: Figma, Miro, YouTube, Loom, Google Drive, etc. Instead of linking out, bring context into Notion so team members see everything in one place.

Notion in Your Design Workflow

Notion works best as a hub that connects to your other tools. Here’s how it fits into a typical design process.

• Before design: Start in Notion with a design brief, competitor research, and user feedback. Embed research videos from Loom or Dovetail. Link to FigJam brainstorming boards.
• During design: Keep Notion open in a second window. Document decisions, embed Figma prototypes for context, and write specs as you design. Update the project tracker when you move to the next phase.
• After design: Write a post-mortem page with what worked and what didn’t. Archive project docs but keep them searchable for future reference. Share specs with developers via public link.

Common tool pairings:

• Notion + Figma for embedding design files directly into project documentation
• Notion + Slack to get updates when pages change, or create pages from Slack messages
• Notion + Linear to link design tasks with engineering tickets and see the full project scope
• Notion + Loom to embed walkthrough videos directly in design specs for developer handoff

Common Problems (and How to Fix Them)

These issues come up often. Here’s how to solve them.

“My Notion workspace is a mess of random pages”

This happens when you create pages without structure. Fix it by building a home page that acts as your table of contents. Group related pages under parent pages (Projects, Resources, Archive). Use databases for anything with more than 5 similar items. Delete old pages you’ll never reference. Notion gives you freedom, but you need to impose structure yourself.

“It takes too long to find anything”

Use the Quick Find search (press Cmd/Ctrl + P anywhere) to jump directly to pages by name. Tag pages with properties if they’re in a database, and filter by tag. Create a “Shortcuts” section in your sidebar for pages you visit daily. If you’re scrolling through nested pages to find things, you’re doing it wrong.

“My team won’t adopt Notion”

Start small. Don’t try to move everything to Notion at once. Pick one use case (design specs or meeting notes) and do it well. Make it genuinely easier than what you’re replacing. Show people, don’t tell them. If it’s faster to find design specs in Notion than hunting through Google Drive, they’ll switch on their own.

“Performance is slow with large databases”

Notion loads databases lazily, but very large databases (1000+ items) can lag. Split databases into Current and Archive. Use linked databases to show filtered views of the main database in different places, rather than duplicating content. Keep images under 5MB and use thumbnails in gallery views. Close unused pages in your sidebar to reduce memory usage.

“I can’t control who sees what”

On free plans, workspace access is all-or-nothing. Upgrade to Plus ($10/user/month) for page-level permissions. Lock pages to prevent editing, or set view-only access for specific team members. For client work, use “Share to web” instead of inviting them to your workspace so they only see specific pages.