Guide · UI states
Empty-state design, explained
An empty state is what a screen shows when there is no data yet — no projects, no messages, no results. It is often the very first thing a new user sees, which makes it one of the highest-leverage screens in a product and one of the most commonly skipped in a prototype.
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Why empty states matter
A new user meets a product at its emptiest. A blank screen at that moment reads as broken or confusing; a well-designed empty state reads as a guide toward the first useful action. The empty state is onboarding by another name.
Because it is where activation happens or fails, the empty state deserves more design attention than the populated one, not less.
The kinds of empty state
There is more than one. The first-use empty state is for a user who has never had data. The cleared empty state is for a user who deleted everything. The no-results empty state is for an empty search or filter. Each needs different copy and a different next action.
Treating them as one generic "nothing here" screen wastes the moment. A no-results state should suggest broadening the search; a first-use state should point at creating the first item.
How to design a good empty state
Say what belongs here, why it is empty, and offer one clear action to fill it. Keep the tone helpful rather than apologetic, and never leave a dead end — every empty state should have a way forward.
Koryvant draws the empty state of every screen it generates, alongside the loading, populated, error, and edge states, so first-run is a designed surface rather than an afterthought discovered in the build.
Try it on your own idea
Describe your product to Koryvant and get a complete clickable prototype — every screen, every state, both themes — free to generate and preview.
Questions
- Why is the empty state so important?
- Because it is often the first screen a new user sees. A good empty state guides them to first value; a blank one reads as broken. It is effectively onboarding.
- Are all empty states the same?
- No. First-use, user-cleared, and no-results empty states each need different copy and a different next action. Treating them as one generic screen wastes the moment.
- Does Koryvant design empty states?
- Yes. Koryvant draws the empty state of every screen alongside its other states, so the first-run experience is decided rather than improvised.
Keep reading: Error-state design, explained or Loading-state design, explained. Browse all guides, or see Koryvant by product type.