Design services
Accessibility is a design opportunity. We design products, services, buildings, processes, and mindsets to be more accessible. Design by disabled people creates innovative solutions that can solve for all.
Why does design matter?
Disabled people are disabled by design. Cities, products, programmes, and policies have been designed to make it impossible for disabled communities to thrive. This exclusion may not be intentional, but it is consistent and wide-spread.
We exist to expand design-thinking and design processes. We design better solutions that add value for all.
At the centre of our design services is co-design, where disabled people actively participate as experts in shaping solutions. We design with disabled people, not for disabled people.
We design strategically with a deep understanding of our clients’ business objectives, ensuring that accessibility efforts align with their long-term growth and operational goals. This allows for sustainable, scalable, and cost-effective accessibility improvements. Co-design uncovers new ways of problem-solving, driving system change, unlocking markets and audiences, and presenting new business growth opportunities.
When we generate research and insights, design opportunities and innovation occur. Accessible design enhances experiences for everyone, yet we recognise that businesses often face challenges in implementation, whether due to cost, infrastructure, expertise, or operational or technical constraints. Our approach ensures that accessibility is integrated in ways that are inclusive, effective, and feasible at different scales and points in your organisational maturity. We believe that change is about progress, not perfection.
What is a design project?
Design influences a wide range of disciplines within our work, from policy and HR processes to the built environment, from communication campaigns to event production, and both digital and physical products and services.
- Designing an adaptive capsule clothing collection informed by community desire.
- Re-designing a government’s reasonable accommodations process to be flexible, equitable and informed by disabled employees.
- Designing a playground where disabled parents can be independent, safe and social with their families.
- Designing a corporate office environment that sets a new baseline for accessibility in real estate.
- Designing a retail environment that supports the recruitment and retention of disabled employees.
Our methodology for design
While each project follows its own unique process, most share common stages to achieve the end result. We balance the objectives of the design solution, the needs of the disability community, market dynamics, and the vision of the organisation. This approach ensures that accessibility and disability inclusion are thoughtfully integrated at every stage.
Disabled people as experts
Disabled people are not just participants in our process, they are experts by experience. At Tilting the Lens we place the disabled community at the heart of every design process. We are committed to ongoing investment and engagement, building a database of disabled people who actively contribute to all our projects.
Lived experience is expertise, and expertise deserves fair compensation. Too often, disabled people are asked to provide feedback without financial recognition. We ensure that all participants are paid fairly for their time, insights, and contributions, reinforcing our commitment to valuing their expertise.
Following any research or engagement with the disabled community, we conduct dedicated playback sessions to share insights, encourage discussion, and provide an opportunity to challenge, refine and iterate our collective knowledge.
Accessible by design
Accessible design is good design and meaningful accessibility is embedded in every stage of the design process from the outset. We ensure that every participant, collaborator, and stakeholder can equitably engage, whether that means providing assistive technology, offering flexible communication formats, or adapting processes to meet individual access accommodations.
Creating accessible and inclusive design requires open, honest conversations. We cultivate psychologically safe spaces where everyone involved can share their ideas, experiences, and perspectives without fear. Respect, active listening, and psychological safety are central to our co-design process.
At Tilting the Lens, we design baseline accessibility into all of our processes, ways of working and outcomes. For example, we ensure that meetings, workshops or design sprints have agendas in advance and are captioned. If they are in-person, we are committed to making the physical space accessible, and our reporting and documentation are accessible to assistive technology and available in multiple formats.
We know that accessibility benefits everyone. We know that disabled people are in every room – some have yet to feel comfortable identifying as disabled. We want disabled people, and anyone with accessibility requirements, to engage in our design process. We invest time, clear guidance, support and tools to ensure everyone is informed, supported, and successful.
Intersectional representation
The disabled community is diverse, spanning different disability types, ages, genders, economic backgrounds, and ethnicities. Our approach is underpinned by this intersectionality, recognising that few single solutions fit all. We design for this complexity, ensuring our work represents the full spectrum of lived experiences.
Inclusive design as a starting point
We use Universal Design and Inclusive Design frameworks as starting points for designing solutions. Our solutions marry form and function, and through co-design processes, honour lived experience as central to innovation and design thinking.
Stakeholder engagement
Stakeholder engagement and research specify our objectives and deepen our understanding of existing processes and theories of change within the organisation. Stakeholders can include everyone from key personnel within an organisation to advocates and the wider community.
We engage with stakeholders at different points in a project, and as our work progresses we share our findings and recommendations, and then support implementation of these outcomes. We value all of these stakeholders equally, and their input is essential to decision making.
We know that this work is a process. Whether it is a short-term project or a long-term strategy, we provide regular updates on progress and establish key milestones to measure success and accountability. We provide clients with the insights they need to drive meaningful business change.
Our research database
We have started building a global database of disabled users from diverse backgrounds worldwide. This includes a wide range of disabilities, demographics, and socio-economic contexts, ensuring that every project we undertake is informed by authentic, intersectional representation.
Design project case studies
Discover some of the design projects we have worked on.
