Where we started

Tilting the Lens was founded by writer, educator, and disability rights advocate Sinéad Burke in October 2020. From her desire to move from individual to system change, Sinéad wanted to create a team that would support companies and communities to embed accessibility into their processes, culture, and ways of working. Tilting the Lens strives to be its own best example – one that creates the conditions for Disabled people to be successful, internally and externally. 

“I started a company, because I figure that if you’re going to change the system, you should probably just build a new one.”

Building a system takes time, but now we have a timeline of case studies, research, and a growing team that exemplifies what is unique about what we do, and how we do it. 

The organisation’s purpose evolved from Sinéad’s own lived experience as a Little Person, growing up in a world that wasn’t designed for her – a built environment and society that positioned disability as an identity and way of being that was less then, and that failed to be ambitious to what Disabled people could achieve.

Sinéad’s ambition is bigger than visibility and representation.

“I want society to value Disabled people as experts, innovators, and leaders. I want industries to acknowledge and make space for lived experience as intellectual property.”

Experts in accessibility

In our remote team, each member has honed specific and explicit expertise, each linked to our service areas of Built Environment, Product and Service Design, and Workplace Culture. 

While we have developed a team who have knowledge and skills, we have also been strategic in our expectation that the Tilting the Lens team be both experts and generalists. As a majority-Disabled team, we have to create space if people become sick or need leave for short or long periods of time. We have the skills internally to be able to support one another, to step into or lead projects outside of our primary expertise. We can do this because of our internal codification process and continuous learning from one another. We also have a vast supplier and partner network, so that we can scale our impact and grow for larger projects.

Tilting the Lens Timeline

  1. 2020

    • In October 2020, Tilting the Lens was founded by Sinéad Burke In Ireland.
    • Clients included Pinterest and Higher Ground (the Obama production company that produced Crip Camp).
    • Sinéad Burke was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

  2. 2021

    • Tilting the Lens became a team of two, with our first employee hired in London.
    • Sinéad Burke and Tilting the Lens were listed on Fast Company’s Most Creative list.
    • New clients included Woolmark and ITV Cultural Council.

  3. 2022

    • New clients included NASA, Jo Malone London, Snap, Mattel, Gucci, Starbucks, and the Crown Estate.
    • We hired our second and third employees.
    • Certified as a Disability Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE) through Disability:IN

  4. 2023

    • Tilting the Lens were consulting editors on the landmark issue of British Vogue, Re-framing Fashion.
    • We co-produced research with McKinsey on digital accessibility for Blind and low-vision customers.
    • Launched a new partnership with Parson’s School of Design in New York on a fully funded programme for disabled designers.
    • We partnered with Gucci to create a new accessibility focus in their stores.
    • New clients included Chanel, Laika, Microsoft, Soho House, and Droga 5.
    • We hired our fourth employee.

  5. 2024

    • Launched a new partnership with National Talent Academies in Ireland for Disabled screenwriters.
    • We hired our fifth employee and established Tilting the Lens in Germany, Spain, and the UK.
    • New clients included Public Appointments Service, Prada, Google, Rituals, and 2K Games.

  6. 2025

    • Became a Certified B Corporation™ and a Living Wage Employer.
    • New clients included AIB, Hermes, V&A Museum, Sightsavers, Ford Foundation, and CFDA.
    • We launched our new website, winning an IDI award.
    • Sinéad Burke spoke at the United Nations as part of the Global Platform for Disaster Reduction (UNDRR).
    • Partnered with CFDA, Vogue, and Tommy Hilfiger to create a unique adaptive fashion challenge, recruiting 10 Disabled muses for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Challenge.
    • We hired employees six and seven.
    • Published our first open-sourced research and practical blueprint to co-design adaptive fashion.

  7. 2026

    • Published resources with Music & Health Ireland on supporting D/deaf audiences, musicians, and performers in venues, and inclusive music-making in Deaf education settings.
    • Partnered with The Costume Institute at the Met and Vogue to develop greater accessibility at the Met Gala and support the curation of the exhibition, ‘Costume Art’.