Empty state

Empty states occur when there is no content to display. They provide users with feedback on the state of a content area and what they can do next.

Usage

When to use

Use an empty state in the following cases:

When no data exists yet.
When users need to take actions to display content.
When a search or filter returned no results.

Types

There are the following empty state types:

Empty state

An empty state appears within the content of a region and fills out only a part of it (area, section, element).

Frameless empty state

The frameless empty state fills out the whole region. It has no background.

General construction

An empty state consists of the following elements:

1. Icon or image (optional)

Use an icon or image to support your empty state message.
Use an image for empty states that occur in big areas and an icon for empty states that occur in small areas.

2. Title

Provide information to the user about the reason for existence of an empty space.

3. Helper text

Describe the next steps or possible actions for the user.

4. Call to action (optional)

Provide the user with a next step, a link to another section or a primary button to interact with.

5. Background (optional)

Has a border.
Can be white or gray.
Can have an optional background pattern.
It is recommended not to use a background pattern for empty state with an image.

Options

The following empty state options are available:

Simple empty state

Empty state with call to action

Empty state with call to action and icon or image

Do’s & Don’ts

Use an empty state with the defined options above.
Do not use containers to build empty states.

Style

This chapter shows several empty state styles in the User Experience Toolkit.

Overview

Title and helper text and gray background — Simple empty state

Title, helper text, call to action and gray background with pattern. — Empty state with call to action

Title, helper text, call to action, icon and gray background with pattern. — Empty state with call to action and icon

Title, helper text, call to action, image and gray background. — Empty state with call to action and image

“Nothing selected” example

Frameless empty state with title, helper text and image. — Frameless empty state with title, helper text and image

“First visit” example

Frameless empty state with title, helper text, call to action and image. — Frameless empty state with title, helper text, call to action and image

“Empty tab content” example.

Empty state with title, helper text, call to action and icon. — Empty state with title, helper text, call to action and icon

Element with and without content

In the example below, the element with content (B) replaces the empty element (A) after the first creation of an asset. If possible and logical, provide a button in the element with content (B) with the same function as in the empty element (A) and with consistent naming.

Typography

The following table gives reference to the different font sizes and weights:

Name	State	Font-family	Font-size	Line-height	Text-align
Title	all	Siemens Sans Roman	21px	29px	center
Helper text	all	Siemens Sans Roman	17px	23px	center

Sizing and spacing

The following measurements show the dimensions for this component:

Sizing and spacing for empty state with image

To see a detailed explanation of all existing helper and size classes, please refer to the usage table below.

Empty state with button

Your device is not onboarded

Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key

Upload key

<div class="emptyState">
    <div class="emptyState__visual">
        <span aria-hidden="true" class="iconUxt filled asset"></span>
    </div>

    <h2 class="emptyState__title">
        Your device is not onboarded
    </h2>
    <div class="emptyState__description">
        Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key
    </div>
    <div class="emptyState__callToAction">
        <a class="button button--primary" href="#"><span class="iconUxt add" aria-hidden="true"></span>Upload key</a>
    </div>
</div>

Empty state with link

Your device is not onboarded

Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key

Upload key

<div class="emptyState">
    <div class="emptyState__visual">
        <span aria-hidden="true" class="iconUxt filled asset"></span>
    </div>

    <h2 class="emptyState__title">
        Your device is not onboarded
    </h2>
    <div class="emptyState__description">
        Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key
    </div>
    <div class="emptyState__callToAction">
        <a href="#">Upload key</a>
    </div>
</div>

Frameless Empty state

Your device is not onboarded

Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key

Upload key

<div class="emptyState emptyState--frameless">
    <div class="emptyState__visual">
        <span aria-hidden="true" class="iconUxt filled asset"></span>
    </div>

    <h2 class="emptyState__title">
        Your device is not onboarded
    </h2>
    <div class="emptyState__description">
        Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key
    </div>
    <div class="emptyState__callToAction">
        <a href="#">Upload key</a>
    </div>
</div>

Empty state with image

Open demo

<div class="emptyState emptyState--withImage">
    <div class="emptyState__visual">
        <img src="assets/images/cloud.png" alt="image placeholder" />
    </div>

    <h2 class="emptyState__title">
        Your device is not onboarded
    </h2>
    <div class="emptyState__description">
        Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key
    </div>
    <div class="emptyState__callToAction">
        <a href="#">Upload key</a>
    </div>
</div>

Frameless Empty state with image

Open demo

<div class="emptyState emptyState--withImage emptyState--frameless">
    <div class="emptyState__visual">
        <img src="assets/images/cloud.png" alt="image placeholder" />
    </div>

    <h2 class="emptyState__title">
        Your device is not onboarded
    </h2>
    <div class="emptyState__description">
        Go to your local device to upload an onboarding key
    </div>
    <div class="emptyState__callToAction">
        <a class="button button--primary" href="#"><span class="iconUxt add" aria-hidden="true"></span>Upload key</a>
    </div>
</div>

Usage

Element	Class	Description
`.emptyState`	`.emptyState--removeDefaultBg`	Removes the default background pattern.
`.emptyState`	`.emptyState--withImage`	Adds a more complex default background pattern and more spacing for a bigger visual / image.
`.emptyState`	`.emptyState--frameless`	Sets the background color to white and removes the border around the Empty state area.

Button