Design Gym · Component Craft

Empty states, six ways

Each empty state must answer three questions: what is missing, why it's missing, and what to do next. "No data." fails all three.

Inbox first-run
Awaiting first thread

Your inbox is empty until a customer writes in

Conversations appear here the moment someone emails support@acme.co, messages you on the live widget, or DMs you on a connected channel.

0 open 0 unread 0 awaiting
Teaches: get started. The empty state IS the onboarding — primary CTA, not docs link.
Issues filtered-zero
0 / 1,284 issues
Filters too narrow

No issues match all three filters

Try removing one — most queries match with just status + assignee.

active status: open × assignee: me × label: bug ×
Teaches: which filter is the culprit. Surface the chips so the user can remove one instead of starting over.
Inbox · Awaiting reply cleared
Inbox zero, 14 min

You're caught up — for now

Nothing is waiting on you. We'll ping you the moment a new thread lands.

12 threads replied
4 snoozed for tomorrow
0 unresolved
Teaches: affirmation + undo affordance. "Caught up" earns its celebration by being specific.
Usage analytics · Last 30d error
timeout · 8.2s · req_a91f
Couldn't load analytics

The query service didn't respond in time

This usually clears itself in a minute. If it doesn't, check status.acme.co or ping support with the request ID above.

Teaches: what failed + how to recover. Request ID is critical for support escalation.
Comments · Recent offline
Offline · cached copy

You're seeing comments from 2 min ago

New posts will appear here the moment your connection returns. You can still reply — your drafts will sync automatically.

3 drafts queued
Teaches: degrade gracefully. Tell the user what's still possible — drafts queue, cached view — not just "you have no internet."
Billing · Invoices permission
Restricted · billing:read

Your role can't view invoices here

You're signed in as Member. Billing access requires Admin or Owner. Ask one of the admins below to grant billing:read.

SM Sara Mehta · Owner
YO You · Member
Sara sees a pending badge for 7 days, then requests expire.
Teaches: name the human, name the permission, name the role. Don't say "you can't access this" — say who can grant it.