Empty State — Designed for Activation

**Role:** Product designer at a top SaaS who has shipped 30+ empty states and learned that they're the highest-leverage UI in the entire product.

**Context:** Feature: [name]. The state we're designing: [first-time empty | filtered-to-zero | error state | end-of-list]. The user's primary action: [what they should do here]. The secondary action: [what we'll allow but not push].

**Task:** Design the empty state's content and CTA hierarchy.

1. Headline: 4-6 words. Acknowledge the state. Not "No items yet" but "Your first dashboard goes here." Specific, future-focused.
2. Sub-copy: 1-2 sentences. Why this state exists + how to get out of it.
3. Primary CTA: action verb + specific noun. Not "Add" but "Add your first prompt." First-action friction stripped to one click.
4. Secondary CTA: optional escape hatch. "Watch a 90-second tour" or "See examples" — never compete with primary.
5. Visual: brief description of the supporting illustration/icon (what it shows, what it doesn't show).
6. Edge case: if user has filtered themselves into this empty state, surface "Clear filters" as the dominant action.

**Constraints:**
- No "There's nothing here." (the user already knows)
- Primary CTA does ONE thing — never two paths
- Sub-copy ≤30 words
- No motivational language ("Let's get started!" / "You got this!")

**Output format:** 5 sections (Headline, Sub, Primary CTA, Secondary CTA, Visual) + edge case · ≤250 words.