Show the empty state in the design review
Why an interface deserves review before its first project, first order or first useful result.
The polished example is only one state
A product screenshot often contains perfect content: balanced titles, attractive images and completed tasks. A new user may see none of those things. Their first encounter can be an empty list. If that state has not been designed, the interface can look broken at the moment it most needs to explain itself.
An empty state should clarify why the space is empty and what the person can do. The right response depends on the cause. A new workspace, a search with no matches and a failed data request are not interchangeable.
Name the cause without inventing it
For a genuinely new project list, “No projects yet” can be followed by “Create a project to collect your brief and review notes.” For a filtered list, “No projects match these filters” points toward clearing or changing the filters. A loading failure needs an error and a retry path, not a message implying that no projects exist.
These are hypothetical copy examples. The application must distinguish the corresponding states before it can display them accurately. If it cannot tell whether a request failed, design work must include that missing behavior.
Give one sensible next action
An empty screen is not a good place for five competing promotions. Choose the action that starts the main task. A secondary example can help if it is plainly labeled and easy to dismiss. Never present sample orders, reviews or customers as real activity.
If you use a sample project, mark it “Example” in the list and inside the project. Explain whether changes affect only the sample. The sample should teach the workflow without making the product seem more established than it is.
Review the transition, not just the picture
Walk from the empty state to the first meaningful result. Create the first item, cancel halfway, return to the list, and try a filter with no matches. Check that the language changes appropriately and that the next action remains visible.
A compact design review can show four frames: new workspace, first item in progress, successful first item and no search matches. Annotate what is known in each frame. That is a more complete account of the experience than a single attractive dashboard full of invented data.