Pinterest to Notion: Visual Research Workflow

Pinterest is one of the best places on the internet for visual research, design inspiration, creative references, and mood-board building — but it’s terrible for long-term organization.

Pins get buried. Boards mix unrelated ideas. Saved items disappear into a scrollable void. And when it’s time to actually use your inspiration, you can’t find anything.

This guide shows you how to save Pinterest pins, visual ideas, and design references directly into Notion — instantly — using Notion Highlights.

Quick Overview

Time Required: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner
What You'll Learn: How to save Pinterest images, captions, and links into Notion effortlessly.

Why This Matters

Pinterest is a goldmine for:

Designers
Creatives
Students
DIY makers
Architects
Artists
Content creators
Home decor planners
Fashion stylists

But Pinterest itself is not a knowledge base.

Pinterest problems:

Boards get too big
Inspiration gets mixed with unrelated ideas
No tagging system
No project linking
No way to take notes
No way to organize by workflow
No long-term curation

When you save Pinterest into Notion instead, you turn scattered inspiration into a structured visual library that fuels real creative work.

Prerequisites

Chrome browser
Notion Highlights installed
Free or paid Notion account
Pinterest account (optional but helpful)

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Open the Pinterest Pin or Board

Navigate to:

A single pin
A Pinterest board
An image detail page
A long-scroll inspiration thread
A visual collection you want to capture

The extension works on all of these.

Step 2: Highlight the Section You Want

You can highlight:

The pin’s description
Any accompanying text
Image captions
Step-by-step instructions
Notes from the creator
Comments with useful context

If it’s on the screen, you can capture it.

Tip: You cannot directly “highlight” the image — but the extension will automatically include the image’s URL and source when saving the text associated with it. Many users add the image after saving (explained below).

Step 3: Right-Click → Save to Notion

With your text highlighted:

Right-click → Save to Notion

This saves instantly and includes the:

Text content
Caption
Source URL
Creator link
Context

No opening new tabs, no switching apps, no screenshot clutter.

Step 4: Choose Your Notion Destination

Suggested Notion databases:

Inspiration Library
Mood Board Database
Design Reference Hub
Project-Specific Board
Aesthetic Direction Doc
Brand Identity Research Page

You can also save pins into different pages depending on the project.

Step 5: Verify Your Save

Open Notion and confirm:

Text formatting is clean
URL is attached
Tags are empty or correctly applied
You’re using the right database

Once the flow is locked in, this becomes muscle memory.

Pro Tips (Creative Workflows)

Tip 1 — Add the Image to the Notion Page

After saving the description + URL:

Copy the Pinterest image
Paste it directly into the Notion page
Notion will embed it cleanly

Now you have:

Image
Description
Link
Tags
Notes
Project context

A real mood-board building block.

Tip 2 — Use Tag Systems

Useful tags for Pinterest content:

Aesthetics
Color palettes
Interior design
Branding
Web design
Typography
Outfits
Architecture
Mood board
DIY
Illustration

Tags = retrieval superpowers.

Tip 3 — Create Project Buckets

Example projects:

“Apartment Redesign 2025”
“Brand Identity Refresh”
“Character Design Study”
“Fashion Outfit Ideas”
“YouTube Studio Inspiration”
“UX Inspiration”

Each saved Pinterest item can be related to a project.

Tip 4 — Add Notes for Future You

In the saved Notion page:

Why did you save this?
What specifically inspired you?
How will you use this?
What problem does it solve?
Which part is the “spark”?

This turns a pin into a real creative asset.

Tip 5 — Weekly Curate & Refine

Every 7 days:

Delete irrelevant inspiration
Group related items
Tag newly saved pins
Add notes and project links

This is how you build a real creative system instead of a random collage of ideas.

Common Issues

Issue: Can’t highlight image text

Pinterest images often have embedded text. Save the description instead or screenshot the image and paste it inside Notion manually.

Issue: The description is missing

Some pins hide text behind “More”. Click “More” first, then highlight again.

Issue: Save didn’t appear in Notion

Check your default save location or search your workspace for the Pinterest link.

Advanced Techniques

1. Build a Visual Inspiration Database

Create a Notion database with:

Image
Description
Source URL
Tags
Color palette (manual field)
Project (relation field)
Inspiration type (Mood board, UI design, Character, Outfit, etc.)
Rating

Views:

By Aesthetic
By Project
By Mood
By Color Palette
Recently Saved

Pinterest → Notion → System.

2. Build a Mood-Board Page

Use Notion’s gallery view:

Big images
Minimal text
Grid layout
Drag and drop sorting

Better than Pinterest for actual design work.

3. Use Notion AI for Categorization

After saving:

Ask Notion AI:

“Summarize this pin and categorize it by design style.”

Or:

“Extract the color palette.”

Or:

“Give me tags based on this image.”

Big time-saver.

Integration With Your Workflow

This Pinterest integration works perfectly for:

Designers

Mood boards, UI inspiration, branding ideas.

Artists

Pose references, character design, color palettes.

Photographers

Composition ideas, lighting references.

Fashion stylists

Outfit grids, lookbooks, seasonal mood boards.

Interior designers

Room concepts, decor ideas, style direction.

Students

Project inspiration, presentation ideas, visual learning.

Creators

Thumbnail ideas, content styling, aesthetic direction.

Measuring Success

Track:

Saved items/week
Retrieval rate
Projects linked to saved content
Color/style patterns
Which boards you revisit the most

Healthy metrics:

10–30 Pinterest saves per week
2–3 tags per save
1–2 new project connections
Weekly curation under 10 minutes

Related Workflows

Save Instagram Posts to Notion
YouTube Inspiration to Mood Boards
How I Organize Creative Research in Notion
Building a Second Brain With Visual Notes

Start Saving Pinterest Inspiration in Seconds

👉 Install Notion Highlights Free
30 free saves per month — no account required.

Pinterest to Notion Visual Research Workflow