Symptom

The empty dashboard showed only “No nodes yet” + “Add a server to get started” text — no visual metaphor for what a node or server is. First-time users encountered pure text with no iconographic context for the product’s core concept.

Root cause

The empty-state Column in ClientScreen.kt was never given an illustration step. The node-graph icon (hexagon_nodes_duotone_solid_full) already existed in the drawable resources but was only wired up to node items via IconManager, not to the empty state itself.

Fix

• Added an Image composable above the headline in the empty-state Column in ClientScreen.kt, using Res.drawable.hexagon_nodes_duotone_solid_full sized at CommonLayout.ICON_SIZE_LARGE (62dp) and tinted MaterialTheme.colorScheme.onSurfaceVariant.
• Mirrored the same change in the DashboardSurface screenshot fixture (Scenarios.kt) so the dashboard__empty scenario re-records correctly.
• Added krill.composeapp.generated.resources.* and org.jetbrains.compose.resources.* imports to ClientScreen.kt.

Prevention

• When adding an empty-state composable, always include a visual anchor (icon or illustration) above the headline. Pure-text empty states read as errors or incomplete implementations to new users.
• The hexagon_nodes_duotone_solid_full icon is the canonical “krill network” metaphor — reuse it wherever the product needs to communicate the concept of nodes to a first-time user.