Text Colors & Backgrounds

Learn how to apply colors and background colors to text in Notion to enhance readability, create visual hierarchy, and organize your content effectively. This guide covers both text coloring and background highlighting features.

When to Use Text Colors and Backgrounds

Text formatting with colors and backgrounds serves multiple purposes in your Notion pages:

• Create visual hierarchy by highlighting important information
• Categorize content using color-coding systems
• Emphasize key takeaways, warnings, or action items
• Improve document scanability for quick reviews

Available Color Options

Notion provides a comprehensive color palette for both text colors and background highlights:

• Text Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Brown, Gray
• Background Colors: Matching background variants for all text colors

How to Access Text Formatting

To format text in any Notion page, you'll need to access the formatting toolbar. This can be done by selecting text or using the drag handle that appears when hovering over content blocks.

1

Click the drag handle (⋮⋮ icon) that appears to the left of your content block, or select the specific text you want to format by clicking and dragging across it. This will reveal the formatting toolbar with various styling options.

2

In the formatting toolbar that appears, locate and click the Color option. This opens a dropdown menu displaying all available color options for both text colors and background colors.

3

Choose your desired text color from the top section of the menu. In this example, click Red text to apply red coloring to your selected text. The color will be applied immediately to your selection.

4

To apply a background color to different text or the same text, click the drag handle again or select the text you want to highlight with a background color. This brings up the formatting toolbar once more.

5

Click the Color option in the formatting toolbar again to access the color picker. Notice the menu displays both text colors (top section) and background colors (bottom section).

6

Choose your desired background color from the bottom section of the menu. In this example, click Purple background to apply a purple highlight to your selected text. The background color will be applied immediately.

Alternative Text Selection Method

Instead of using the drag handle, you can also:

• Select specific text by clicking and dragging across the words you want to format
• Use keyboard shortcuts like Cmd+Shift+H (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+H (Windows) to quickly highlight text

Combining Text Colors and Backgrounds

You can apply both text color and background color to the same text selection for enhanced visual impact. Simply apply one formatting option first, then select the same text again and apply the second formatting option.

Best Practices for Text Formatting

Accessibility Considerations

• Ensure sufficient color contrast between text and background colors to meet accessibility standards
• Don't rely solely on color to convey meaning - use additional indicators like bold text or symbols
• Test your color combinations with users who have color vision differences

Visual Design Guidelines

• Use colors consistently throughout your document (e.g., always use red for warnings, green for success)
• Limit your color palette to 3-4 colors per document to avoid visual clutter
• Use background colors sparingly to highlight only the most important information

Removing Text Formatting

To remove color formatting from text:

1. Select the formatted text you want to change
2. Click Color in the formatting toolbar
3. Select Default from the color menu to return to standard black text

Common Use Cases

Here are some popular ways to use text colors and backgrounds in Notion:

• Status indicators: Green for completed tasks, red for urgent items, yellow for in-progress work
• Category coding: Different colors for different topics, departments, or priority levels
• Highlighting key information: Yellow background for important quotes or deadlines
• Note-taking systems: Color-code different types of notes (questions, insights, action items)

Next Steps

Now that you understand how to apply colors and backgrounds to text, you can enhance your Notion pages with visual organization and improved readability. Experiment with different color combinations while keeping accessibility and consistency in mind.

Try creating a color-coding system for your next project or document to see how formatting can improve your workflow and help you process information more efficiently.