Where did all my storage go?
Details
Product
Disk Layout (MaCleaner Pro)
A visual disk scan for MaCleaner Pro: one scan turns the main directories into a proportional map paired with a folder list — see what's big, open it, clean it, all in the same view.
Problem
Big Files Don't Look Big
In a file list, a 500 MB folder and a 3 MB file get the same row height and the same icon. Nothing on the screen says "this is where your space went" — users had to open folders one by one and compare numbers in their head.
Solution
A Map Instead of a Guessing Game
One scan builds a donut map of the scanned directories, sized by what they actually weigh. The map and the list stay linked — hover a segment to see the folder behind it, open a row to go deeper, select and clean without switching screens.
Result
Shipped as the App's Newest Entry Point
A new "scan first, see everything" alternative to the app's category-by-category cleaning tools.
Impact
Design decision
- 01/ Proportional map instead of a flat list
- 02/ Folder details (created/changed/opened) shown inline
- 03/ Selection and cleaning right away
- 04/ One free scan before the paywall
Target metric
- Time to locate large files
- Cleanup completion rate (fewer abandoned scans)
- Fewer trips to Finder mid-cleanup
- Trial-to-paid conversion
Context
MaCleaner already cleaned what it could recognize: cache, logs, trash, duplicates — the categories Smart Clean handles on its own.
But the heaviest files are usually legitimate: old downloads, forgotten exports, a Documents folder that quietly grew for years. No cleaner can decide those for you — someone has to actually see them first.
Process
App reviews kept circling one frustration: people knew the disk was full, but not why. The gap between "I have a problem" and "I can see the problem" is what this update had to close.
The first explorations were list-based — sortable columns, size labels. Technically complete, but scale never registered: 600 MB reads as a number, not as "a third of everything". The list stayed, but as one half of a pair — a donut map carries proportion, the list carries names, dates and actions.
Solution — How It Works
To turn "my disk is full" from a feeling into something you can point at — and act on in the same breath.
Scan — one pass over the main directories, started from a single button.
See — a proportional map with the total in the center, folders as rows beside it.
Open — any row drills a level deeper; the map rebuilds for that branch.
Clean — check what should go, watch the total update, hit Clean.
Design 1/6 — Start & Scan
One screen explains the feature, one button starts it. While scanning, START becomes CANCEL and a progress bar keeps the wait honest.
Design 2/6 — The Map
Scan done: scanned folders on the left with dates and sizes, the donut on the right with the total in the center. A details panel shows when the selected folder was created, changed and last opened.
Design 3/6 — Linked Both Ways
The chart isn't decoration: hovering a segment pulls it out and names the folder and its size. Chart and list always point at the same thing.
Design 4/6 — Drill In
Opening Documents rebuilds the map for just that branch — folders and files side by side, the path back one tap away.
Design 5/6 — The Deep End
At the deepest levels the map steps aside: a full-width list with checkboxes, a running "chosen for cleaning" total and the Clean button. The visualisation earns its place at the top — and knows when to leave.
Design 6/6 — One Free Try
Disk Layout ships as a premium feature with a single free scan. The popup sells the try, not the subscription.
Store Presence
Reflections
- Proportion beats precision
- Nobody needed exact gigabytes to act. They needed to see which slice was obviously too big — the numbers only mattered after the shape made the point.
- A chart is only useful while it's connected
- The donut works because hover, list and details always agree. The moment a visualisation stops answering "so what do I do?", it turns into decoration.
What would I do next?
- Search inside results
- The map answers "what's big"; it should also answer "where is that one heavy project folder I know exists" — a search field over scanned results.
- Undo, visibly
- A post-clean summary with a short undo window would remove the last bit of fear from the Clean button — and fear is what stalls cleanups.
- Measure the moment of conversion
- If analytics allowed, I'd want the offer shown right after the first Clean — at the peak of delivered value — and A/B-test that timing against the entry popup.