Defining disability and access

Communities are disabled by design — in the built environment and inaccessible spaces, or the biases that reinforce discrimination in the implementation of a recruitment policy, or in how systems value and treat disabled people. These issues are design problems, and we can and must design better solutions.

The Social Model of disability

The Social Model of disability states that disability is a consequence of barriers in society. This model helps us recognise the barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers ensures greater equity, opportunity and the possibility for disabled people to thrive. 

We consider the Social Model as a baseline, and largely operate under a model of Disability Justice, recognising and valuing disabled people as the foremost experts in their own experiences and access needs. We understand the intersectional expression of disability and the need for policies, practices, and behaviours to be tools to dissolve the barriers and biases experienced by those from multiply-marginalised backgrounds.

Disability can be permanent, intermittent, or temporary depending on the individual and many external factors. No two disabled people are alike in what they need, in how they experience systems, and those needs can change day-to-day for internal or external reasons.

Methodology and frameworks

We know that designing with inclusive and diverse lenses uncovers new ways of problem solving.  True collaboration drives innovation, unlocks new markets and audiences, and presents business growth opportunities. 

Our solutions are rooted in collaboration, flexibility, and the lived experience of disabled people. We build frameworks that embed long-term, systemic change.

Maturity Model 

We use an internal maturity model to assess an organisation’s accessibility positioning. This supports us to understand the company’s readiness and how cultural transformation takes shape. To do this, we meet key stakeholders at the beginning of every project – people from different departments and different levels of seniority, to understand how our solutions can be specific, and implementable. This is also a useful device to ensure that we reach our strategic objectives, and for those clients that we work with on a longer-term basis, we support them through the stages of our Maturity Model – from awareness and advocacy, to cultural and system change. 

Leading through co-design frameworks

Co-design is a framework based on participatory design approaches. It involves collaborative methods, and is rooted in power sharing and equitable exchanges. We deeply understand that an individual’s identity cultivates unique insight, solutions, and ways in which to break down barriers. Within our process, centring those who have lived experience and insight into the problems we are solving creates robust, sustainable, and pragmatic solutions. We translate these insights from a cohort of stakeholders that can include clients, partners, end users, and the disabled community. We don’t merely consult with communities, we collaborate and co-design a fairer future together. 

Lived experience as expertise

We position disabled people as equal partners, recognising and valuing their lived experience as a vital form of expertise. 

We commit to non-oppressive and intersectional research practices in all of our work. We understand that research can replicate power imbalances and be extractionary by nature, so we take deliberate steps to ensure our research is paid, respectful, and community-led.

Our Research Database is designed to invite a global, disabled community to partner with us in research, user testing, design sprints, and ideation sessions to explore the creation of better and more accessible products, services, and policies. 

Beyond Universal and Inclusive Design

Universal design is a framework with seven core principles. It is about designing products and services to integrate access requirements from the outset, rather than designing separate or specific features. Its aim is for products and services to be equitable, flexible, simple, and intuitive. 

But, none of the seven principles prioritise aesthetics. And too often, products and services that are designed to be accessible over-emphasise functionality rather than being intentionally about look and feel, or how disabled people might feel using them in public or in private. 

Similarly with Inclusive Design, a framework that centres those in the margins and believes that by designing for one user case, we can create solutions for all. We believe that at times, you can feasibly create solutions that work for everyone, but sometimes, creating a product or solution specifically for one type of access need, you can and may create barriers for others.

Instead, we use these frameworks as a starting point, and prefer to ensure that our design process creates flexibility and adaptability, and equally prioritises form and function. We view accessibility as a framework, not an outcome – one that continues to iterate, evolve, and aspires to leave no one behind.

Our driving principles

Moving beyond compliance

Our work is underpinned by local and global legislation and standards. Legal frameworks and standards harmonise the requirements placed on organisations and create clear guidelines. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) 2025 is a step towards greater access to products, services, and communications by removing barriers and synchronising the legislation among member states. 

However, it’s just a starting point. We know that guidelines and standards are a baseline, and don’t extend far enough to create truly accessible products, services or experiences. For example, in the UK, Part M is a great starting point for more accessible physical environments, but it doesn’t move the dial on designing a built environment that is particularly accessible for neurodivergent employees or customers. It’s the same with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It sets out a minimum standard for accessible bathrooms, but doesn’t set out an expectation or ambition of a Changing Places bathroom. When we widen our strategic objectives to beyond compliance, there is a great opportunity for innovation, inclusion and market expansion. 

Disability is not a monolith

It is often stated that solutions can and should be “fully accessible”, but what does that mean? 

We push back against the phrase, because to attempt to design one solution that works for everyone creates a narrow pathway for success. Universal design or inclusive design is based on this idea and they are strong frameworks but they are limited by the idea of one perfect solution. 

Our solutions are about designing multiple pathways. Much like fashion, one size does not fit all. We deliberately design solutions to be flexible, equitable, and multi-modal, so that people have agency and control. They can adapt products, services and policies for their specific requirements.

Disability Justice model

Disability Justice is a social justice framework that recognises the many intersecting factors that an individual can experience. Inclusion of those who are multiply-marginalised must be a key consideration in our research and solutions. Achieving social and economic justice for everyone requires collaboration and alliance.

The principles of the framework lie in intersectionality, collective liberation, and sustainability. It recognises each individual’s value as a whole person, outside of capitalist values and productivity. 

You can find more information about the 10 Principles of Disability Justice from the organisation, Sins Invalid. 

Creating legacy memory

We want our solutions and strategies to outlive our time with any organisation. We ensure that our training and strategies drive behaviour change, and that our outcomes are implemented, and part of the systems in the company, ensuring that if key stakeholders leave or get promoted, the work continues.

Start where you are

To create lasting change, we must not create exceptions. Instead we must build pathways and pipelines for fair access.

It is important to start where you are right now.

Just as members of the public often only consider disability when it affects them or someone they love, most companies only consider accessibility when they hire a disabled person or when new legislation requires compliance. Our goal is to embed accessibility before then. Build access into workflows and processes so that disabled hires don’t have the burden of educating their colleagues or enduring teething periods with new structures.

We believe that meaningful change is often about progress, not perfection. It’s about all of us, at every level, embedding these practices into our daily workflows to make change happen, from top down and bottom up. This has to be embedded for long-term and permanent change, but we know that sometimes, people don’t know where to start. 

Perhaps you want to understand the disability demographics of your organisation, or you have a new retail store opening and you want to ensure all customers and employees can access the space. Our solutions lean on global best practices, but every project is unique to that company and specifically, designed to support and create measurable outcomes. 

To understand where you sit on our maturity model, and how we can get started to drive system change together, we would love to hear from you. 

Contact the team