Chat list UI examples

A chat list helps people see which conversations need attention and jump into them. Our examples show channels and direct messages with unread counts, presence indicators, message previews and search, designed for a fictional team chat product on web and mobile in eight visual styles, each with light and dark themes. Every example is an original design that comes with its HTML code and a DESIGN.md of colour, type and spacing tokens, in light and dark. Free to use and adapt.

DeviceAll Web Mobile

StyleAll Minimal Editorial Brutalist Luxury Playful Corporate Retro Monochrome

Theme

16 examples

Web · minimal

Web · editorial

Web · brutalist

Web · luxury

Web · playful

Web · corporate

Web · retro

Web · monochrome

Mobile · minimal

Mobile · editorial

Mobile · brutalist

Mobile · luxury

Mobile · playful

Mobile · corporate

Mobile · retro

Mobile · monochrome

See it in a flow

Message a teammate and start a call

Chat list design tips

Make unread conversations stand out with bold names and a count, and keep muted conversations visibly quieter.
Show presence with both colour and shape or a label, so status is readable for people with colour vision deficiency.
Truncate previews to a single line and include the sender's name in group conversations so context is clear.
Keep search pinned at the top of the list and let it match people, channels and message content.

Questions

Should channels and direct messages be in one list or separate sections?

Separate collapsible sections work well for team chat because people think about channels and private conversations differently. A single list sorted by recent activity suits personal messaging. Whichever you choose, let people pin or star important conversations to the top.

How should unread messages be indicated in a chat list?

Use bold text for unread conversations and a numeric badge for direct messages or mentions. Plain channel activity can use a subtler dot to avoid badge fatigue. Clear the indicator as soon as the conversation is opened and read.

What information belongs in each chat list row?

The conversation name, an avatar or icon, a one-line preview of the latest message, its time and the unread state. Presence suits direct messages. Avoid adding more metadata, as the list must be scannable at a glance on a small screen.

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Building with an AI coding agent? Every screen here is also in the free Made Good Designs MCP server: ask Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT to search_ui_screens (e.g. “billing settings, editorial style”), get_ui_flow for a whole journey, and get_ui_screen_code to pull the HTML and DESIGN.md straight into your project.