fix(ux): add helpful empty state messages to list views (#164)

src/components/sections/activity-feed.tsx

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { ActivityFeedItem, ActivityFeedFilters, ActivityType } from '@/types';
 import { formatDateTime, formatCurrency } from '@/utils/formatters';
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';
 import { Badge } from '@/components/ui/badge';
+import { EmptyState } from '@/components/ui/empty-state';
 import {
   Bell,
   Gift,
@@ -126,8 +127,16 @@ export function ActivityFeed({
       </div>
 
       {/* Activity List */}
-      {filteredItems.length === 0 && !loading ? (
-        <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground py-8 text-center">No recent activity</p>
+      {loading ? (
+        <div className="flex items-center justify-center p-8" role="status" aria-label="Loading activity">
+          <Loader2 className="w-6 h-6 animate-spin text-primary" />
+        </div>
+      ) : filteredItems.length === 0 ? (
+        <EmptyState
+          icon={Bell}
+          title="No recent activity"
+          description="Check back later or follow more creators to see their latest updates and announcements."
+        />
       ) : (
         <div className="space-y-3">
           {filteredItems.map((item) => (

src/components/sections/top-tippers-table.tsx

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import type { TopTipper } from '@/types';
 import { formatCurrency, formatDate } from '@/utils/formatters';
+import { EmptyState } from '@/components/ui/empty-state';
 
 export interface TopTippersTableProps {
   data: TopTipper[];
@@ -13,9 +14,10 @@ export interface TopTippersTableProps {
 export function TopTippersTable({ data }: TopTippersTableProps): JSX.Element {
   if (data.length === 0) {
     return (
-      <div className="flex items-center justify-center py-12 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
-        No tippers for this period
-      </div>
+      <EmptyState
+        title="No tippers for this period"
+        description="Share your creator link or QR code with your community to start receiving tips."
+      />
     );
   }
 

src/components/ui/empty-state.test.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { render, screen } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { EmptyState } from './empty-state';
+import { Inbox, Plus } from 'lucide-react';
+import { Button } from './button';
+
+describe('EmptyState Component (#164)', () => {
+  it('renders title and description properly', () => {
+    render(
+      <EmptyState
+        title="No transactions yet"
+        description="Send a tip or link your wallet to see your transaction history."
+      />
+    );
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('status')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText('No transactions yet')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.getByText('Send a tip or link your wallet to see your transaction history.')
+    ).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('renders custom icon when provided', () => {
+    render(
+      <EmptyState
+        icon={Inbox}
+        title="Empty inbox"
+        description="No new notifications at this time."
+      />
+    );
+
+    expect(screen.getByTestId('empty-state')).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByText('Empty inbox')).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it('renders optional action button', () => {
+    render(
+      <EmptyState
+        title="No items found"
+        action={<Button size="sm"><Plus className="w-4 h-4 mr-1" />Create New</Button>}
+      />
+    );
+
+    expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: /create new/i })).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+});

src/components/ui/empty-state.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import * as React from 'react';
+import { LucideIcon } from 'lucide-react';
+import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
+import { Card } from '@/components/ui/card';
+
+export interface EmptyStateProps extends React.HTMLAttributes<HTMLDivElement> {
+  icon?: LucideIcon | React.ComponentType<{ className?: string }>;
+  title: string;
+  description?: string;
+  action?: React.ReactNode;
+}
+
+export function EmptyState({
+  icon: Icon,
+  title,
+  description,
+  action,
+  className,
+  ...props
+}: EmptyStateProps): JSX.Element {
+  return (
+    <Card
+      className={cn('flex flex-col items-center justify-center p-8 text-center border-dashed', className)}
+      data-testid="empty-state"
+      role="status"
+      {...props}
+    >
+      {Icon && (
+        <div className="w-12 h-12 rounded-full bg-muted flex items-center justify-center mb-3 text-muted-foreground">
+          <Icon className="w-6 h-6" />
+        </div>
+      )}
+      <h3 className="font-semibold text-base mb-1 text-foreground">{title}</h3>
+      {description && <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground max-w-sm mb-4">{description}</p>}
+      {action && <div className="mt-1">{action}</div>}
+    </Card>
+  );
+}

src/components/ui/index.ts

@@ -47,3 +47,7 @@ export {
   DropdownMenuSubTrigger,
   DropdownMenuRadioGroup,
 } from './dropdown-menu';
+
+export { EmptyState } from './empty-state';
+export type { EmptyStateProps } from './empty-state';
+