MinIO: Designing Cloud Storage for a Faster World

MinIO’s object storage platform handles massive datasets in cloud-native environments. While the technology was robust, the user experience needed to match its capabilities. Our goal was to create designs that simplified complex workflows, enhanced usability, and supported MinIO’s growth with intuitive designs. Shortcut partnered with MinIO to elevate their products through clear, efficient design. Over nine months, we delivered:

AIStor offered enterprise-grade functionality but was complex to navigate. The task was to create a simpler, more accessible interface that maintained its advanced features.

n a focused two-week sprint, Shortcut delivered a fresh visual style for AIStor – a Shortcut to a more intuitive experience. We prioritized clarity by establishing a clear visual hierarchy with thoughtful font choices to guide the eye and highlight essential information. We aimed for a clean and modern aesthetic, transitioning to a refined palette of grays complemented by a fresh blue accent, reflecting MinIO’s cutting-edge position, all in record time.

We established a modular foundation using 'Tokens' to define typography, colors, and spacing, which formed the core visual language. Our process was iterative and agile, with weekly syncs with the MinIO team to ensure we were consistently aligned with their evolving needs. Efficiency was a key consideration, focusing initially on restructuring existing components before introducing new ones based on user feedback and MinIO’s product roadmap.

After building and rigorously testing every necessary component, we meticulously documented them, ensuring developers could implement the toolkit seamlessly. This comprehensive effort culminated in the first version of the MinIO Design System, successfully applied to their flagship product, AIStor.

To this day, we continue to add to and expand the system, reflecting the growing needs for other MinIO products over time.

– Daniel Valdivia, MinIO Software Architect