Databases at Notion
Databases at Notion

Databases at Notion

Published
April 14, 2024
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I currently work at Notion on the databases product!

Notion is a connected workspace, software toolmaking tool, blocks-based editor, and productivity tool.
Notion is used for a lot of things, including…
Digital life planners, journals, calendars, dashboards! (emberstar1)
Digital life planners, journals, calendars, dashboards! (emberstar1)
Company organizational hubs and task management! (Notion Mastery)
Company organizational hubs and task management! (Notion Mastery)
Meal planning systems! (Marie Poulin)
Meal planning systems! (Marie Poulin)
Second Brains to store knowledge! (Easlo)
Second Brains to store knowledge! (Easlo)
 
“We give people a software toolmaking tool by disguising Notion as productivity software. Once people get familiar with Notion, they then realize that Notion is built with lego pieces that they can tinker and modify.” - Ivan

Notion’s databases presents to users a way to build SQL-like databases, with six supported views: Board, Table, Timeline, Calendar, Gallery, List.
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During my time at Notion, I’ve worked on…

Formulas 2.0

For the new Formulas language update, I built and co-designed the new editor, wrote all the in-app documentation, ran the beta, built several functions, and helped design and build language semantics and mechanics.
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Performance

Throughout my time at Notion, I’ve made numerous database performance improvements (better computation, caching, rendering) and built performance tooling.

Core UI/UX

I’ve built and co-designed numerous community loved improvements, including…
 

Database Properties

I rewrote the database property rendering codebase (22 property types x 7 formats), rewriting tens of thousands of lines of code and making UI/UX improvements and performance improvements along the way 🙂.
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Community Engagement

I am also the primary engineering representative with Notion’s community of power users, creators, and builders, the Notion Ambassadors! I’ve met with hundreds of users, conducted user research, and given community and employee talks!
At Berlin, I gave a talk to 250 Notion community members about the power of Notion and upcoming features!
At Berlin, I gave a talk to 250 Notion community members about the power of Notion and upcoming features!
I also gave a talk and Q&A to 50 Notion Ambassadors about building for Notion, formulas 2.0, and product design philosophy.
I also gave a talk and Q&A to 50 Notion Ambassadors about building for Notion, formulas 2.0, and product design philosophy.