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How to make your notes visual in Obsidian

Nicole van der Hoeven·
5 min read

Based on Nicole van der Hoeven's video on YouTube. If you like this content, support the original creators by watching, liking and subscribing to their content.

TL;DR

Pair text with images and other cues to improve recall, rather than relying on fixed “learning style” categories.

Briefing

Visual note-taking in Obsidian isn’t about matching “visual learners” with pictures. The more practical takeaway is that memory improves when notes group different kinds of cues together—text paired with images, diagrams, and even audio/video—so ideas become easier to recall and retain. From there, the workflow becomes less about aesthetics and more about using visuals for specific jobs: capturing information, explaining concepts, tracking progress, aggregating related ideas, and contextualizing how notes connect.

For capturing, the simplest move is embedding existing visuals rather than creating everything from scratch. Drag-and-drop images from the web into Obsidian can immediately enrich a note. For people who already capture handwriting (for example via Notability on a tablet), those PDFs or images can be inserted directly. A step beyond that is sketchnoting: turning lectures, YouTube lessons, or other material into quick drawings using a “visual vocabulary” of simple pictures. Excalidraw is presented as a favorite because it works across mobile and tablets and syncs cleanly into an Obsidian vault—drawings made on an iPad still look good in Obsidian mobile (Android) and desktop.

Explaining is where visuals meet structure. Even without jumping to pictures, digital notes should be skimmable. Since Obsidian stores notes in Markdown, headings (from H1 down through H6) and formatting like italics and bullet points break large blocks of text into readable chunks. Callouts—core Obsidian features—add another layer: they can hold embedded lessons, summaries, quotes, code blocks, and tips. Collapsed callouts help keep a note compact while still making different content types easy to compartmentalize.

Tracking and searching introduce different constraints. Visual tracking can turn routines into streaks and trends, and Obsidian Tracker is highlighted with examples like daily completion check-ins, Swedish progress, sleep ratings, and energy charts. The plugin’s charts are generated from daily template tags in the note front matter. Meanwhile, images are harder to search than text; a normal image won’t be searchable unless it’s tied to a filename. Excalidraw solves part of that by converting the drawing into Markdown, preserving the text typed inside the diagram so search can find it. It also enables tagging—an Excalidraw flowchart can be automatically tagged and additionally tagged with custom keywords like “flowchart.”

Aggregation is framed as one of the strongest uses of visual notes: diagrams and slide-like summaries help distill multiple concepts into a single picture. Excalidraw supports this with custom “layers” such as continuous testing comparisons (e.g., k6 vs JMeter structures). Advanced Slides is positioned as a more dynamic aggregation tool because it can behave like a presentation and update automatically when the underlying note content changes—described as a “living snapshot.” Videos are also treated as aggregation artifacts: embedding self-made explanations helps refresh understanding when memory fades.

Finally, contextualization is about seeing relationships across a vault, not just inside one note. Graph views can struggle at scale (around 6,000+ notes), so mind maps and relationship-focused plugins help. The Mind Map plugin can generate a mind map from headings and links, useful for outlines and presentations. ExcaliBrain is presented as the newest layer: it visualizes a note’s parents, siblings, and children in a pop-out view, and clicking linked notes in Obsidian updates the ExcaliBrain context—like switching to a HUD-style perspective over the knowledge graph. The overall message: visuals take time, but starting with Excalidraw and adopting only what fits keeps the system sustainable.

Cornell Notes

The core idea is that better recall comes from pairing text with multiple cues—images, diagrams, and other media—rather than from a myth that people are strictly “visual” or “auditory” learners. In Obsidian, visuals can be used for five practical purposes: capture, explain, track, aggregate, and contextualize. Markdown structure (headings, bullets, italics) and core features like callouts make notes skimmable, while Excalidraw adds drawings that sync across devices and can remain searchable when converted to Markdown. Plugins like Obsidian Tracker turn tagged daily data into charts and streaks, and Excalidraw-based diagrams can be tagged for easier retrieval. For higher-level understanding, Mind Map and ExcaliBrain visualize outlines and relationships across a vault, helping connect notes beyond a single page.

Why does the transcript reject the “visual learner vs auditory learner” framing, and what replaces it?

It argues that learning improves when different types of stimuli are grouped together—text paired with images and even sound—making information more meaningful and easier to remember. Instead of tailoring notes to a fixed learning style, the workflow focuses on combining cues within the same note so recall is supported by multiple representations.

How do headings and callouts improve “explaining” in Obsidian without relying on drawings?

Obsidian notes use Markdown, so headings created with hash marks (H1 through H6) break content into skimmable sections that themes can visually differentiate. Italics and bullet points further reduce wall-of-text fatigue. Callouts (a core feature) add labeled blocks—tips, quotes, code blocks, and embedded lesson summaries—that can be collapsed, letting readers compartmentalize information and expand only when needed.

What problem arises when adding images to Obsidian, and how does Excalidraw address it?

Images aren’t as easily searchable as text. A note containing an image can be found, but searching for specific content inside the image typically won’t work unless the filename matches. Excalidraw drawings can be opened as Markdown, preserving the text typed into the drawing as searchable content. That also enables tagging—e.g., a flowchart can be tagged with custom keywords like “flowchart” so it’s retrievable through tags.

How does Obsidian Tracker turn daily habits into visual feedback?

Obsidian Tracker reads tags defined in the note front matter (from a daily template) and visualizes them using charts and streak-style indicators. Examples include a completion check for a “brilliant lesson,” Swedish progress with a skipped weekend, a line chart for sleep rating, and a bar chart for energy—so the visual feedback discourages breaking streaks.

What makes aggregation with visuals different from simply making a note prettier?

Aggregation aims to distill multiple concepts into a single visual layer. Excalidraw supports this by letting the user compare structures (such as continuous testing ideas or k6 vs JMeter components) in one diagram. Advanced Slides extends the idea by turning note content into presentation-like views that update automatically when the underlying note changes, described as a “living snapshot.” Videos are also treated as aggregation artifacts because embedding self-made explanations helps refresh understanding later.

How do Mind Map and ExcaliBrain support contextualization across a vault?

The Mind Map plugin generates a mind map from headings and links, using the note’s structure (e.g., H1 vs H2) to build an outline-like visualization that can be revealed progressively during presentations. ExcaliBrain goes further by showing a note’s relationships—parents, siblings, and children—in a pop-out window. Clicking related notes in Obsidian updates the ExcaliBrain view, effectively providing a HUD-style context layer over the knowledge graph.

Review Questions

  1. Which of the five visual uses (capture, explain, track, aggregate, contextualize) best matches your current note-taking pain point, and what specific tool would you try first?
  2. How does converting an Excalidraw drawing into Markdown change what you can search and tag inside Obsidian?
  3. What tradeoffs appear when using graph views at large scale, and what alternative visualization plugins are suggested?

Key Points

  1. 1

    Pair text with images and other cues to improve recall, rather than relying on fixed “learning style” categories.

  2. 2

    Use Markdown headings (up to H6), bullet points, and italics to make notes skimmable and visually navigable.

  3. 3

    Leverage core Obsidian callouts to separate content types (tips, quotes, code blocks) and collapse sections to reduce clutter.

  4. 4

    Adopt Excalidraw for cross-device drawing and for searchable diagrams, since Excalidraw content can be represented as Markdown text.

  5. 5

    Use Obsidian Tracker with daily template tags to generate streaks and charts for habits and progress.

  6. 6

    Treat aggregation as distillation: combine multiple concepts into one visual layer using Excalidraw or Advanced Slides for updateable summaries.

  7. 7

    Use contextualization tools like Mind Map and ExcaliBrain to visualize relationships across notes, not just within a single page.

Highlights

The transcript frames visuals as a memory tool: combining text with images (and sometimes sound) makes ideas easier to retain—no learning-style myth required.
Excalidraw diagrams can become searchable because the drawing’s text is preserved as Markdown, enabling both search and tagging inside images.
Obsidian Tracker turns front-matter tags from a daily template into charts and streak incentives, including sleep and energy trends.
Advanced Slides is described as a “living snapshot,” updating presentation sections automatically when the underlying note changes.
ExcaliBrain provides a HUD-like relationship view (parents, siblings, children) that updates as linked notes are selected in Obsidian.

Topics

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