Mentor Spaces
The first community-driven mentorship tool for underrepresented talent
Team involved
Irene Utrilla
Lead Product Designer
Marta García
Front-end Developer
Andrés Calero
React Native Developer
Careers empowered with inclusion
As the son of a single black mother, Chris Motley wanted today’s young Black and Latin professionals to have an easier path than he did. Recognizing that they often lack the confidence and social capital needed to build strong careers, he set out to create a digital product that could help their professional development.
“Z1’s design expertise expanded our thinking when considering how to bring Mentor Spaces to life.”
Chris Motley
Mentor Spaces Founder
From our initial sessions and workshops with Chris, the Z1 team felt inspired by Mentor Spaces. The Black Lives Matter movement and the professional crisis resulting from the pandemic heightened the need for equality and inclusion initiatives. The founder’s passion helped us understand the mission of his product, and we spared no effort in iterations to get it right.
Inspiration, motivation, and inclusion
We bet on a direct, motivational, and advocacy-centered style for both the design and content. Our goal was to make the app’s features accessible and compelling for its young audience, where they could see themselves reflected in mentors who had achieved career success and say: “Hey, that could be me!”
We focused on creating an accessible and appealing design that fosters community empowerment. Based on user feedback and real DEI challenges, we developed a flexible interface where mentors and mentees can connect seamlessly.
Every design choice aimed to inspire and motivate users. Our team transformed the early web-based platform into a native app that facilitates group sessions, one-on-one chats, and community discussions. This adaptability ensured that Mentor Spaces could evolve alongside its community, a core idea that Chris envisioned from the start.
Branding the spirit of 'Lifting as We Climb'
We created Mentor Spaces’ brand inspired by the fascinating narrative against racism in post-abolition America: The story of America’s First Black Women’s Club, whose claim was "Lifting as we climb."
We glued concepts like connections and conversations that drive you up to the top to design a straightforward, recognizable, and meaningful logo and isotype.
“Mentor Spaces opened our eyes to various aspects of inclusion. It was a pleasure to collaborate on an initiative that totally aligns with Z1’s own goals and philosophy.”
Irene Utrilla
Lead Product Designer at Z1
A scalable app for users and organizations
Using React Native, our engineers built a powerful mobile platform capable of handling the dynamic needs of Mentor Spaces. Our development team integrated features like real-time chat, group sessions, and rich content options to support meaningful mentorship connections. We also built flexibility for both users and organizations, ensuring the app could grow with its mission.
One of our biggest challenges was maintaining consistency between iOS and Android while supporting new functionalities requested as the product evolved. The result is a reliable, adaptable, and engaging platform that amplifies the impact of DEI in corporate settings.
From Google to Good Morning America
The launch of Mentor Spaces marked a significant milestone, not just as a product used by +10K emerging Black and Latinx leaders and companies from startups to Fortune 500 right after its launch, but as the start of a social movement for diversity in professional space.
While the Mentor Spaces team is now flying solo, we’re proud to have been part of a project that has been recognized as one of the ‘Best Apps for Good’ by Google, as well as collaborates with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
