Empty States

Every reachable data state needs truthful treatment; absence and failure need different next moves.

Start with a state contract, not a set of illustrations

Name region and transition before copy/illustration. Record:

Question	Decision to record
User goal	What they came to find, create, compare, or finish in this region
Data authority	Network source, local draft, cached result, permission boundary, or user-entered filter
Entry condition	The observable event that enters loading, zero-result, error, stale, or partial state
Continuity	What remains visible and editable while the state is active
Recovery	The action that can change the state, its owner, and whether retry is safe to repeat
Exit proof	The event that replaces the state and the announcement/visual confirmation the user receives

First-use, zero results, and permission absence need different truth. Trusted cached data is stale content with progress, not a blank reset.