4 Ways You Can Make Your OneNote look a little less drab and a little more fab!
OneNote is an awesome tool for organisation but it can often look a little plain and boring. Here’s a few tips to leverage those extra features to help you improve the appearance of your OneNote while optimising your efficiency. For reference, I have used the OneNote for Windows 10 desktop app for the below instructions but you can use these tips across all versions 👍
1. Use emojis when naming your sections
Research shows us that placing an emoji at the beginning of a folder name allows your brain to make neural connections to locate information more easily. It’s also a more inclusive content design for those collaborative notebooks (looking at you, teachers using Class Notebook).
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Add-emoji-to-section-name.png)
Easily choose a fitting emoji using the keyboard shortcut for your device below and searching a keyword:
Windows: Windows key + .
MacBook: ctrl + cmd + spacebar
Chromebook: Search/Launcher key+Shift+Space
iPad: Hit the smiley face on your touch keyboard
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Emoji-keyboard.png)
2. Change the section colours
If you are anything like me, you’ll have noticed in the screenshot the emojis matched the section colour. I agree, it’s very pleasing to the eye. This one is a simple tweak, just secondary click on the section and click into the section colour options.
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Change-section-colour.png)
3. Liven up the background
The pages are blank by default, but this doesn’t mean you can’t inject a bit of colour! In the ribbon, click on the View tab and you’ll see the Page Colour option.
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Set-page-colour.png)
Take it one step further and insert a picture you want to use as a background. Simply insert then secondary click and hit ‘Set picture as Background’. You could even use this one if you have a company vision you visit every team meeting, school values you want your staff to keep front of mind, or image template you want to collaborate on.
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Set-picture-as-background-1024x830.png)
4. Use avatars to add personalisation
This one is a fun way to bring a bit of a personal touch to a meeting agenda or a class task. As in step 3, these can be inserted as an image file and set as a background. You could as your team to send you theirs linked to a theme and change it up each quarter – I know our team enjoy this one!
![](https://usingtechnologybetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Add-a-Bitmoji-1024x510.png)
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Check out how to manage your meeting notes with OneNote here