What makes Notion so special
Notion is the best possible solution for building a text-based document for many folks, which makes it first in mind for any writing or content-like task.
Notion follows the two design rules. It has a single primitive “blocks” that nests into another primitive “pages”. It uses these primitives exclusively, including for navigation. Notion uses existing solutions: text formatting, tagging, and “Copy link” to share. This makes the product feel familiar and easy to use.
Full disclosure? I use Notion every day. It’s not for everyone, but it is for me, and many other folks who use it to complete their work or organize their personal lives. Little known fact: Notion was the product that kicked off the concept of multiplayer products and eventually its successor winning products.
Something the product did subtly enabled future growth for the product without making the product more complicated or hard to use: they refined and stuck to their “block” primitive.
More on Notion’s primitive, the block
We dove deep into product primitives in this post. Here, we’ll dive into Notion’s specifically. But just to recap, a primitive is a product’s smallest atomic unit. If you’re familiar with Slack, for example, their primitive might be their “message”. The primitive is important because it becomes a familiar entry point for users that can offer more value over time.
In the case of Notion’s “block”, it’s usually just a block of text. This text can then be reformatted into a list, a quote, or a piece of code. There’s no need to create a separate list or go somewhere else in the product to drop in a piece of code. There are shortcuts that make it easy to add this specific formatting if you’re a pro.
The block could also be an embed: a Figma file or even a website. The block could be a button that runs an automation. And recently, a block can be written by artificial intelligence.
The opportunity for the AI block
The commitment to the single primitive is something that can enable future growth for the product. Designing and building the product, it allows you to add new features (more value) without adding complexity. Using the same primitive also solves a common feature problem: getting intra-product distribution (exposing users to the new feature).
Notion recently added a native integration into the product, which enables artificial intelligence to continue writing, make lists, or even write a specific type of communication like a recruiting email. All within the block primitive. As I use Notion to write long-form, one of my favorite uses is to ask AI to argue against the points I’m making in the post. Refining my own thinking and arguments.
If I compare this experience to using ChatGPT, there is something about using a chat-style interface. The nature of the back and forth I find insightful and informative. But adding it to the block is not a loss. It’s another example of the commitment to the primitive, and making the product more valuable without increasing complexity. And with the progress of AI over the past year, it’s hard to predict the value this adds.
The primitive that ties it together
Notion’s “page” primitive nests blocks into a single container. It’s the primitive you share when you’ve created a piece of content. As an example of making this primitive more powerful, you can add infinite properties. You can add tags to pages, or date-based metadata. While contributing to the page primitive, you’re improving your experience (enabling filtering with tags, or better search from metadata). You’re creating a loop inside the product. Kind of like growth loops, but for the product experience, instead of growth.
If you create a list of pages, a Kanban board, or a calendar… every entry is a page. It’s intentional. There’s no separate primitive for a calendar entry or a Kanban item. Removing the friction when a user goes to use the product, “do I make a list entry, or a calendar event?”. It gives users more freedom, making the product more flexible and enabling more use cases.
Notion is clearly a winning product. If you’re in the business of designing or building products, it’d behoove you to check it out if you haven’t, study it if you have.
To dig deeper into this concept, I’d recommend: Multiplayer Products, Two design rules that make products win, and How to solve world-class problems. And for more product examples: Figma, Slack, and email. Questions? Ideas? Feel free to comment on the post.