We obsess over buttons, animations, and color palettes. We A/B test CTAs until we’re drowning in statistical significance. But there’s an entire category of interface design that most teams treat as an afterthought: empty states.
Empty states are the moments when there’s nothing to show—no messages, no files, no data. They’re the blank canvas moments. And they’re quietly doing more behavioral heavy lifting than almost any other UI element.
The Psychology of the Void
Here’s what most designers miss: empty states aren’t neutral. They’re emotionally charged moments that trigger one of two responses:
Abandonment or activation.
When Dropbox shows you an empty folder, they don’t just say “This folder is empty.” They show you exactly how to drag files in, with a subtle animation demonstrating the gesture. They’re converting void into invitation.
When Spotify opens to an empty playlist, they don’t leave you staring at whitespace. They suggest songs based on the playlist name you just created. They’re predicting intent and meeting it halfway.
The Four Archetypes
Every empty state falls into one of four categories, and each demands a completely different design approach:
First-Use Empty – The user just signed up. Nothing exists yet. This is your onboarding moment disguised as absence. Duolingo nails this by making the empty state itself the first lesson. You’re not staring at nothing—you’re already learning.
User-Cleared Empty – They deleted everything, archived it all, or marked it complete. This is a moment of accomplishment, not failure. Todoist celebrates inbox zero with confetti. They understand that emptiness here is victory.
Action-Required Empty – Something should be here but isn’t because the user needs to do something first. Linear shows empty project views with one-click templates. They’re removing friction at the exact moment of maximum potential drop-off.
Error-State Empty – The search returned nothing. The filter is too narrow. The connection failed. This is where most apps fall apart. They show generic error messages when they should be suggesting alternatives, loosening constraints, or explaining why nothing matched.
The Pattern That Never Dies
Here’s a mistake that keeps reappearing: treating empty states as terminal conditions.
An empty inbox isn’t the end of the email experience—it’s a temporary state that will change. But most email clients design empty states as if they’re permanent, with elaborate illustrations and motivational quotes that become irritating the moment you receive a new message.
The best empty state designs are ephemeral-aware. They know they’re going to disappear soon, so they don’t overinvest in decoration. They focus on speed-to-exit.
The Hidden Metric
Empty states are conversion funnels in disguise. Every empty state has a corresponding “time to first content” metric that product teams should be tracking religiously:
- Time from signup to first document created
- Time from empty cart to first item added
- Time from new project to first task logged
These metrics tell you if your empty states are working. If users are stalling out at the void, your empty state isn’t doing its job.
The Counterintuitive Move
Want to know the most underused empty state pattern? Temporary fake content.
When you open Figma for the first time, you don’t see emptiness. You see a sample file with example designs. It’s not your work, but it shows you what’s possible. It gives your cursor something to interact with immediately.
This violates every “don’t show users fake data” principle we’ve been taught. But it works because it solves the cold-start problem. Users learn by doing, not by reading instructions in an empty void.
The Emotional Gradient
Different products need different emotional tones in their empty states:
A meditation app’s empty state should feel calm and spacious. A task manager’s should feel activating and energizing. A photo album’s might feel nostalgic and inviting.
Mailchimp’s empty campaign list doesn’t just say “create your first campaign”—it says “Let’s get started on your first campaign” with a monkey mascot that looks genuinely excited. The emotional framing transforms obligation into opportunity.
The Test
Here’s how to audit your product’s empty states:
- Sign up as a new user
- Screenshot every empty state you encounter
- For each one, ask: “Does this make me want to fill it, or leave?”
If the answer is “leave” more than once, you have conversion leaks you didn’t know existed.
The Deeper Truth
Empty states reveal your product’s philosophy. Are you designing for power users who know exactly what to do? Or for newcomers who need guidance? Are you celebrating completion or demanding constant engagement?
Slack’s empty channel state says “This is the beginning of something new.” It’s optimistic, forward-looking. Discord’s says “No one’s talking here yet” with a cute illustration. Same functional reality, completely different emotional framing.
The best products treat empty states not as design gaps to fill, but as behavioral architecture—scaffolding that shapes how users learn, engage, and ultimately succeed.
Your empty states are working right now, teaching users how to think about your product. The question is whether they’re teaching the right lessons.