Pixar DEI | Studio Boldheart

DEI Campaigns at Pixar

Before founding Studio Boldheart, Danny Barnhart worked for Pixar as a technical director, and in his downtime he designed various Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion campaigns, collaborating closely with the studio's employee resource groups. Examples of this work can be found below!

sf Pride Rebrand

In 2022, many employees expressed interest in wearing shirts representing their specific studio, out of pride for their workplace and the (then-recent) 'Don't Say Gay' controversy surrounding Disney. After meeting with other Bay Area companies within the Disney enterprise, we decided to create studio-specific shirts that aligned with the established design of the Disney Enterprise Pride shirts.

This redesign proved to be highly successful, achieving the highest participation rate of Pixar employees in the company's history at the San Francisco Pride Parade!

big gay fans fundraising

In response to the growing wave of anti-transgender legislation in 2023, a creative pitch was made to raise funds for the Transgender Law Center by offering custom, colorful fans as a thank-you for employee donations—complemented by The Walt Disney Company’s generous donation-matching program. Designed and sourced by Studio Boldheart founder Danny Barnhart, the fans quickly became a symbol of solidarity and support. Thanks to the enthusiastic participation of employees, the campaign raised over $2,500 in just a few days, making a powerful impact in the fight for transgender rights.

Spirit Day Celebration

To honor LGBTQ+ youth and offer valuable resources for those supporting them, Pixar rolls out the purple carpet each year to celebrate Spirit Day! Inspired by the vibrant, dreamlike settings of Pixar's SparkShort "Out," we created a variety of dynamic branded materials to bring the celebration to life. From fresh new logos to eye-catching social media content, and even large-scale photo backdrops for the event, every detail was designed to reflect the spirit of inclusion and support for the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a day of celebration, connection, and standing proud together!

pixability branding

As Pixar expanded its employee resource group initiatives, Pixability was born and needed a brand identity that was both meaningful and aligned with Pixar’s existing initiatives. The challenge? To create a design that authentically represented the disabled community while staying true to Pixar’s creative spirit. In our initial sketches, we explored a variety of concepts, drawing inspiration from familiar Pixar imagery like the lamp and ball, and even a lightning bolt—a nod to both Lightning McQueen and the pride flag within the disabled community. After some thoughtful refinement, we streamlined the design, removing the lamp for a more focused and clear representation of the group's core mission. The result? A brand that’s both inclusive and unmistakably Pixar.

trans stories spotlight

To celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility, we created a special pop-up event: Trans Stories Spotlight! The event's visual branding was inspired by the vibrant DIY and zine-making culture that's such a key part of the LGBTQ+ community. The goal was to feature genres and topics that were as expansive as the gender spectrum, with something for everyone to enjoy. Artists and storytellers had the opportunity to learn more about how to develop transgender characters, and to expand their understanding of the community from the lived experiences shared by trans creators. The featured titles were hand-picked by members across multiple employee resource groups to ensure a diverse pool of topics.

oakland pride rebrand

After the success of the 2022 SF Pride rebrand, LGBTQ+ employees encouraged Pixar to take things up a notch by participating in Oakland Pride in 2023—this time with a custom visual identity that was more distinctly Pixar, and a stronger connection to the East Bay community. The rebrand began with a simple goal: update the "We Are the Magic" text to feel more Pixar-specific, removing the Mickey Mouse references and tweaking the colors for better legibility. But the response was so enthusiastic that we were able to make even more exciting changes—like swapping the original border for iconic Pixar character silhouettes, and repurposing existing assets to be used as parade signs. This involved close collaboration with both Disney and Pixar’s legal teams to ensure the branding stayed consistent and true to our high standards. The end result? A rebrand that not only captured the spirit of Pixar but also boosted employees' sense of belonging, making the event a massive success.