Work / Case study 042022–2024 · Mexico and Colombia, remote
Learning toolspeople actually use.
At Sspark Human Innovation, a mentoring and career-coaching company, I designed the learning experience behind its programs: interactive toolkits that replaced a web platform participants struggled with, used in programs for clients like Mabe, Uber and Riot Games.
ToolsInDesign, Acrobat, Google Slides, Illustrator
Learning tools people actually use · Sspark5conversations, one journey4accessibility rules1interaction system0apps to install
Clients I worked with directlyThrough Sspark Human Innovation
01Creative directionConceptKey visual
Uber Eats:a mission to the moon
My first project as creative director. For Uber Eats' leadership program in Latin America, I created destination ONE together with a Product Development Manager: the concept and visual world of a mission: becoming number one, working as one team. The brief was to make leadership development feel like a goal worth the effort, so I built it on a real trip to the moon.
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”John F. Kennedy · the opening line of the concept
Concept deck · destination ONE
A leadership program rewritten as a mission to the moon: every idea in the training got a place in the journey.
Concept developed hand in hand with a Product Development Manager at Sspark
Astronaut= the leader
Resources= what powers the mission
Dangers= real obstacles
Stages= development stages
Phase 1LiftoffCommit to the strategy and leave the ground together.Resource · The rocketThe strategy the whole crew boards for the mission.Danger · Orbiting correctlyMishandling situations at the start.
Phase 2Lunar orbitChange how the team thinks and acts.Resource · The suitsMindsets and behaviors that protect the crew.Danger · Gravitational anomaliesOld perceptions that pull people back.
Phase 3LandingTurn learning into everyday leadership.Resource · Life-support backpacksThe skills that keep the mission alive.Danger · CratersThe pain points found on the ground.
The astronaut profile · why they are on the mission
Perfect visionA leader needs a clear, promising vision.
No age limitAnyone can become an astronaut, and a leader.
1,000 hours of trainingPreparation is what makes the mission succeed.
Skills for the mission
Strategic decisionsChoosing the route before the fuel runs out.
Problem solvingResponding well when something goes wrong in orbit.
Effective negotiationKeeping the crew aligned on one goal.
Outside the route, asteroids stand for market threats: the risk every mission has to accept.
Key visual system in the Uber Eats palette
Mission pieces
02UX research
The platformwas the problem
Participants in the mentoring programs, many of them older adults, were stuck between two bad options: they didn't want to print the material, and they didn't understand the web platform. With many participants per program, the web also failed at the one thing they needed most: saving their answers to discuss them later in their mentoring sessions. They needed a digital book that worked on its own, with nothing else to install or learn.
BeforePrint, or get lost online.
Printing was rejected, the web platform was confusing, and answers couldn't be saved and brought to each session.
AfterOne book that does it all.
One interactive digital book per program: participants write their answers, save the file and bring it to every session.
03Information design
Five conversations,one journey
The mentoring program is organized as five conversations. I turned that structure into the backbone of the toolkit, so participants always know where they are.
1PurposeValues, life and career plan
2DevelopmentStrengths, communication
3ConfidenceBarriers, fears, self-esteem
4LeadershipAssertiveness, decisions
5StrategyPersonal brand, network
04UX/UI designDesign system
A PDF thatbehaves like an app
I designed a small interaction system inside the document. Every interactive element has a consistent look and a label that tells people what to do with it.
01Navigation menu
A side bar to jump between sections, like a website.
02Writing fields
Answer reflections and agreements right in the document.
03Check boxes
Self-assessments like "Star mentors".
04Links and videos
Readings and learning videos, one click away.
Hey! I’m interactive, write here ✎Labels like this removed guesswork: users don’t need to know how PDFs work to use one.
On the live site: a short screen recording of filling in a field and checking a box.
05Accessibility
Designed for peoplewho don't like technology
A user guide at the start of every toolkit
Larger type for comfortable reading on screen
Large tap and click areas on every interactive element
Clear labels that say what each element does
06Design system
One system,many clients
The same structure and interaction system adapted to each client's program and identity.
SsparkMentoring program
MabeClient program
Abogadas MXClient program
Also for Riot GamesUnder NDA.
I designed learning materials for their programs with Sspark. That work is under NDA; I'm happy to walk through it in an interview.
07Brand identityVisual communication
Corporate,but human
When I joined Sspark, the logo was the only visual asset in place: no palette, no typography, no rules. The challenge was to build a corporate visual language that global clients would trust, while keeping it human, because the product is people growing through mentoring. I created everything around the logo: the graphic language, presentation templates, social media and the learning materials, so every touchpoint felt professional and warm at the same time.
Pilot presentation
Also · not implementedA logo refresh proposalI also proposed three directions to evolve the logo and its stationery for the next stage of the company. They stayed as proposals.
“
“Her ability to design learning tools was key to our training sessions, making the content accessible and engaging for every participant.”
Esteban Hacelas · COO, Sspark Human Innovation · Translated from Spanish
Thanks
With thanks to Sebastián Calvo, Senior Designer at Sspark, for his mentorship.
