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How to Add an Icon in Notion: Personalizing Your Notion Workspace

Adding icons to your Notion pages and workspaces is an easy way to customize the look and feel of your workspace. Icons help visually categorize information, making your Notion setup more aesthetically pleasing and easier to navigate.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about adding custom icons in Notion, including:

Benefits of Using Icons in Notion

Before we dive into the how-to, let’s look at some of the key benefits of using icons in Notion:

  • Visually categorize information: Icons allow you to tag pages based on their purpose or content type at a glance. For example, you can use a book icon for reference material, a lightbulb for ideas, etc.
  • Enhance aesthetics: Icons make your Notion workspace more visually appealing and fun to use. You can find icons that match your personal style.
  • Improve navigation: Icons help you quickly differentiate between pages as you’re scrolling through your sidebar or searching.
  • Boost productivity: A well-organized, visually pleasing workspace keeps you engaged and focused. Icons help streamline workflows.

How to Add Icons in Notion

Adding an icon in Notion is simple and only takes a few clicks. There are a few different methods you can use:

Use Notion’s Icon Library

Notion has a built-in library of icons and emojis you can choose from:

  1. Navigate to the page you want to add an icon to
  2. Hover over the page title and click “Add icon”
  3. Browse Notion’s icon library and select an icon
  4. Click the color swatch in the upper right to change the icon color

Notion’s default icon set has a decent selection. But if you want more options, you can import custom icons.

Upload Custom Icons

To use your own icons:

  1. Hover over the page title and click “Add icon”
  2. Select the “Upload” tab
  3. Click “Choose an image” and select an icon file from your computer
  4. Click “Open” once you’ve chosen your icon file

Tip: For best results, upload square PNG images sized around 280×280 pixels. This matches Notion’s default icon size.

Link to Hosted Icons

You can also link to icons hosted elsewhere:

  1. Hover over the page title and click “Add icon”
  2. Select the “Link” tab
  3. Paste the URL of the hosted icon and press Enter
  4. The linked icon will now display next to your page title

This method allows you to source icons from external libraries.

Sourcing Custom Icons for Notion

While Notion’s default icons work, you’ll likely want more personalized and aesthetically pleasing icons. Here are some great resources to find custom icons for Notion:

  • Notion Icons: Curated selection of over 4,400 free icons optimized for Notion. Lots of styles and customization options.
  • IconFinder: Database with over 2 million free and premium icons. Great quality icons.
  • FlatIcon: Large free icon database. Icons available in multiple formats.
  • Noun Project: Over 3 million curated icons, many free to use. Featured artists.

When sourcing icons, look for PNG, SVG, or EPS files that are sized around 280×280 pixels. Square icons work best in Notion.

Customizing Icon Colors in Notion

Along with choosing different icons, you can customize the icon color to match your Notion workspace theme:

  1. After adding an icon to your page, click directly on the icon
  2. A color palette will open – click any color to change the icon color
  3. Click “Default” to reset back to the original icon color

Experiment with different icon color schemes to see what looks best with your Notion setup.

Adding Icons to Tables & Databases

So far we’ve covered adding icons next to page titles. But you can also add icons to tables and databases in Notion:

  1. Open the table/database and enter edit mode
  2. Click the property name (column header) to change icon settings
  3. Toggle “Show property icon” to on
  4. Choose an icon from Notion’s library or upload a custom icon
  5. The icon will now display next to the property value/cell

Using icons in tables and databases makes them more scannable and visually organized.

Tips for Using Icons Effectively

Here are some tips for making the most of icons as you customize your Notion workspace:

  • Use a consistent icon style: Pick a cohesive icon aesthetic so your workspace looks uniform. Mixing radically different icon styles looks messy.
  • Only use icons where helpful: Icons are great for visual organization but don’t go overboard. Too many icons creates noise.
  • Name pages thoughtfully: Page titles + icons together should clearly communicate what each page/section is.
  • Add icon hover text: For lesser used icons, add descriptive hover text so people understand what an unfamiliar icon represents.

Notion Icon Tools & Templates

Looking for more icons, tools, and templates to take your Notion customization further? Check out these resources:

  • Notion VIP: Chic icon templates for Notion along with other templates.
  • Super.so: Tools for advanced Notion customization and icons.
  • Red Gregory: Notion templates, icons, blocks, and other assets.
  • Iconify: Database of icon sets you can browse.

Review different Notion icon libraries to find ones that match your personal taste and workspace aesthetic.

Key Takeaways

Adding custom icons is an easy way to personalize your Notion workspace:

  • Icons help visually organize information and enhance navigation
  • Upload your own icons or link to icon URLs
  • Tailor icon colors to match your Notion theme
  • Use icons consistently in tables/databases for better scanability
  • Check out dedicated Notion icon libraries for more options

With the right icons and some color customization, you can create a beautifully designed, uniquely branded Notion workspace that reflects your personal style.

So explore different icon sets and start adding icons across your Notion pages today!

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