---
type: "article"
title: "Stop designing empty states last"
summary: "The first thing a new user sees is the screen with no data. So why is it always the last thing we design?"
newsletter: "Pixel & Grid"
newsletter_handle: "pixel-and-grid"
newsletter_url: "https://staging.in.usecommune.com/n/pixel-and-grid"
author: "Yuki Tanaka (@yukitanaka)"
published: "2026-08-23T08:30:00.000Z"
canonical_url: "https://staging.in.usecommune.com/n/pixel-and-grid/a/stop-designing-empty-states-last"
markdown_url: "https://staging.in.usecommune.com/n/pixel-and-grid/a/stop-designing-empty-states-last.md"
chat_url: "https://staging.in.usecommune.com/n/pixel-and-grid/a/stop-designing-empty-states-last/chat"
body_source: "imported"
likes: 5
replies: 0
body_words: 72
---

# Stop designing empty states last

Every product's most important screen is the one a brand-new user hits first: the empty state. And it's almost always an afterthought.

## An empty state has one job

Not to apologize for having no data. To show the user what this place looks like when it's full of theirs, and how to get there in one step.

> A great empty state is a promise. A bad one is a shrug.

***

## Discussion

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