Cineworld's error messages
If you run into an error while booking cinema tickets, you'll see a themed movie quote.
Design Examples
Error Message Examples from Real Products
See how companies like Monzo, Waze and Asana handle errors, including jokey age checks, field-by-field payee matching and a WhatsApp 404 told as a chat.
Real world examples:
Updated: 26/10/2026, view all 1,503 examples
Examples on Built for Mars include
Waze uses jokes to catch fake birth dates
Monzo shows which payee detail didn't match
Asana warns of data loss before reloading
Blimey, you're old
When entering your DOB, Waze have jokey inline validation messages.
iPhone's suspend charging when wet
If you plug a wet iPhone in to charge, it may be automatically blocked from charging.
You've reached a 404 page
WhatsApp’s 404 page recreates a conversation.
Apple's band size
When configuring an Apple Watch in the store, if you select a strap size without first opening the fitting guide, you'll see this prompt.
Turn your sound up
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FAQs
When does humour in an error message actually work?
Humour works when it is short, readable and still tells users what to do next. For example, Waze's birth-year jokes ask for a real age in the same line, while Cineworld's film-quote error has the right idea but is awkward to read and poorly styled.
How detailed should a validation error be?
Detailed enough that nobody has to guess what to fix. For instance, Monzo checks each payee field separately, ticking sort code, account number and account type and crossing only the name that doesn't match the bank's records.
How do you stop users assuming a feature is broken?
Name the likely cause on the user's side before they blame the product. As an example, Google Translate asks "Is the volume off?" when a translation plays on a muted phone, which makes clear the audio feature is working.
What should a crash message offer besides a reload button?
It should state the risk to unsaved work, suggest how to protect it and make support easy to reach. This is what Asana does, telling users to copy unsaved text first and giving a memorable unique phrase to quote to support instead of an error code.
Can a warning prevent an error rather than report one?
Yes. A prompt at the right moment can fix bad input before checkout. For example, Apple's store flags when someone picks an Apple Watch band size without opening the size guide, because the bands come in custom sizes.