“Cupcake” is an animated short film produced and developed by YouTube in celebration of Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community. The story centers around a baker who experiences a change of heart when shown the beauty of inclusivity with a little help from some whimsical and proactive cake toppers. With a sprinkle of magic, Allyson (our baker) realizes that love knows no gender, race, or orientation.

The story itself was inspired by the many news articles covering incidents of discrimination against gay and trans people by local bakeries in the United States—and the United States Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in favor of the bakers. Discrimination is especially prevalent in the wedding industry, where nontraditional couples are denied service from wedding cake vendors, jewelers, location vendors, and more.

Because there is no dialogue in the film, the production, set, and character design were critical in sharing our story. Our biggest challenge in designing both the main characters and the cake toppers was to ensure that we represented as wide a range of identities within the LGBTQIA+ community as possible within a limited amount of time.The characters and cake toppers were meant to reflect the reality of the LGBTQIA+ community: beautifully diverse, culturally rich, and thoughtfully nuanced.

Allyson’s Bakery was a character unto itself in the film and served as a metaphor for Allyson’s journey. At first, the bakery appears dark, uninspired, and almost abandoned—a reflection of Allyson’s stagnant state of mind.

Then, in step the cake toppers! The physical transformation of the bakery is meant to act as a reflection of the emotional transformation Allyson undergoes as a person.