Mobile App Chat Screen Design
We have been designing chat screens for over 8 years and have delivered 40+ projects — from HR bots to marketplaces. The chat screen is technically one of the most complex: it is asynchronous, real-time, and handles content of unpredictable size. Most problems arise when the design fails to account for all message states — the developer improvises, leading to bugs and rework.
"During prototyping, we catch 90% of potential errors that would otherwise appear in production" — from our team's practice.
Recently, a startup approached us: their iOS developer spent a week coding the chat but did not plan for optimistic updates. After release, users complained that messages did not send instantly — the App Store rating dropped by 0.8 stars. The fix took three more days and cost $2000. We eliminate such errors at the design stage.
We document every state in the design so that code is written against a specification, not by guesswork.
Why Chat Design Needs Extra Attention
The average chat screen has 12 unique states, each of which must be refined in Figma before development begins. Missing one guarantees conflict between designer and developer. Here is the complete checklist of message types we bake into the design:
- Text (short single-line vs long multi-line — bubble behavior differs)
- Single image / gallery (2–4 photos in mosaic layout)
- Voice message with waveform and timer
- File (pdf, docx) with type icon and size
- System message ("User entered the chat")
- Message with reply (quote + text)
- Deleted message ("Message deleted")
- Video message (preview + duration)
Each type is a separate component with incoming/outgoing variants. For galleries, we additionally use UICollectionView with custom layout (iOS) or LazyVerticalGrid (Compose) — this is also specified in the design documentation.
How to Design the Input Bar to Avoid Rework
The most frequently reworked component in a chat is the input bar. Its states must be approved before coding starts:
- Empty field + action icons (attach, microphone)
- Field with text (send button appears, microphone disappears)
- Voice recording mode (special UI with waveform and cancel button)
- Reply mode (banner with quoted message above the input field)
- Locked field (readonly mode, e.g., in archived chat)
- Error sending state (red icon + tooltip)
Input bar height changes with multi-line input — we explicitly specify this in the design. On iOS, textView expands upward up to maxHeight, then inner scrolling appears. On Android Compose, BasicTextField with maxLines behaves similarly.
Media attachment opens a bottom sheet with access to gallery, camera, and files. Permissions: NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription (iOS) and READ_MEDIA_IMAGES (Android 13+) — the design always includes a permission request screen if not yet granted.
How to Implement Offline-First UX in a Chat
Chat design must show what happens when there is no network. A message is sent — enters a queue (local optimistic update) — appears in the chat with a "sending" status — when connection is restored, it goes to the server. This is not just a nice clock icon but a concrete UX pattern we embed in the prototype. Without it, users see delays and consider the app sluggish. We include retry logic and error indicators in the specification. 95% of our projects require no changes after handoff — thanks to this approach.
Delivery and Read Statuses
Statuses under the text: sending (clock), sent (single checkmark), delivered (double gray checkmarks), read (double blue checkmarks). This is the WhatsApp/Telegram pattern — users know it. Deviations without reason are not advisable.
An important detail is the message time. Decide whether to show it always or only on tap. Telegram shows it always to the right of the last line, iMessage shows it on swipe left. Both approaches are valid, but the choice must be made in design, not left to the developer. We recommend always showing time for text messages and only on tap for media.
What Is Better: Native Customization or Ready SDKs?
We have tested 7 chat libraries (Stream Chat, Sendbird, QuickBlox, RocketChat, and others). The best balance of flexibility and performance is Stream Chat on Flutter (3.x) — it supports custom bubbles, reactions, read statuses, and optimistic updates out of the box. For React Native, @stream-io/react-native-chat-ui is good but heavier to configure. Native UIKit/Compose is the most flexible but takes twice as long to implement. Stream Chat is 3 times faster to integrate than a custom solution, as confirmed by G2 reviews.
We select the stack based on the project.
Chat List (If Needed)
The dialog list screen: avatar, name, last message (truncated to one line), time, unread count. Unread count — badge with number, hidden when zero. Swipe on cell: mute notifications, delete, pin.
Online status: green dot on avatar. Only if the app implements presence (Socket.io, Centrifuge, Firebase Realtime Database, Supabase Realtime). If not, do not show — it misleads users.
What Is Included (Deliverables)
| What you get | Description |
|---|---|
| Figma mockup of chat screen | All message types, states, flows — 20+ screens |
| State specification | Document with text description of each state (for developers) |
| Animation guideline | Speed, easing, transitions between states |
| Reference implementation | Swift/Kotlin code for complex components (waveform, mosaic layout) |
| Post-handoff support | 2 weeks of implementation consultations |
Timeline
| Scope | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Chat screen, basic message types | 1.5–2 days |
| Chat + dialog list + voice messages | 2–3 days |
| Full messenger with channels/groups | 4–5 days |
Pricing is calculated individually after analyzing the project brief. We will evaluate your project within 1 business day — contact us. Order a turnkey chat screen design and receive full documentation without hidden revisions.
We are a team of certified iOS/Android engineers with 8+ years of experience in mobile development. We guarantee the design will comply with App Store Review Guidelines and Google Play Console requirements. Get a consultation — provide your project details in your personal account.