Product design concept · 2026

Bellrope

A team messaging app designed around the questions people actually ask a chat window: who has read this, what is pinned, and what is this channel for.

A design project: we designed these screens, and they were not built by us.

  • Design
  • Messaging
  • SaaS
  • Desktop App
Bellrope website: screen

Overview

Bellrope is a design concept for a desktop team messaging app, drawn as a single 1440x900 working screen. Three columns carry it: a sidebar that separates threads, mentions and drafts from channels and direct messages; the conversation itself; and a details panel that answers the questions a busy channel raises. The thread is shown mid-conversation rather than empty, with reaction pills, a reply count, an edit marker, a typing indicator and a read receipt naming the three people who have seen the last message. The details panel states what the channel is for, what is pinned and who the seven members are, and puts notification control and a "mute until Monday" toggle within reach of the conversation instead of behind settings.

A conversation caught mid-flow

The thread is designed in the state it will spend its life in: reaction pills on two messages, a "2 replies, last reply 09:58" link, an "(edited)" marker, a hover action bar and Tom typing. Designing the busy state first is what stops the quiet empty-state version from falling apart on day two.

The details panel answers the channel's questions

What this channel is for, what Sarah pinned in July, who the seven members are and what each of them does, and which files have been shared. Those are the questions a new member asks, and they sit beside the conversation rather than behind a menu.

Notification control where the noise is

The notification choice — every message, mentions and replies, or nothing — plus "mute until Monday" sits in the same panel as the channel it applies to, so turning the volume down does not mean leaving the room to find a settings page.

Built with

  • Figma

Design details

Colour palette

Typography: Manrope

Headings

Large heading

Section heading

Subheading

Body text

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Body copy is set in this typeface across the site, from service descriptions to contact forms.

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