Abstract Current text-based mobile chat systems hinder navigation with long chat history in a limited screen display. Moreover, tracking messages sent by specific chatters is cumbersome and time consuming. Hence, we proposed a graphical-based usable interface that aids navigation and message tracking with minimal key-presses and enhances the chatting experience with avatars and emoticons. In addition, we explored the usable interface design of mobile chat systems by visualising the navigation to facilitate easier understanding of the messages’ contents. We statistically evaluated the relationships between user interfaces and usability to uncover the key attributes that enhance mobile chat usability. The empirical research outcomes exemplified that there was a significant linear relationship between the user interface and usability on text-based and graphical-based usable interfaces for mobile chat systems. Moreover, the experimental evaluation results indicated that text-based usability can be improved by creating interface that encourages usages; whereas the graphical-based mobile chat is augmented by creating a user friendly interface that enhances user satisfaction, encourages usages and promotes ease of navigation. The findings and results typified the potential use of graphical-based mobile chat systems as a substitute to the current text-based systems which is under utilised in the commercial arena.