New York State Department of Civil ServiceHow to Open Doors to Public Service

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Scope
Brand Management
Content Creation
Event Graphics
Marketing Collateral
Social Media

Team
DCS PIO Team
DCS ODIM Team
DeSean Moore
OpAd Media
Matthew Cyr

The Department of Civil Service is rethinking public service for the 21st century. A sweeping transformation is modernizing how New York State recruits, tests, and supports a more talented and diverse workforce. Key initiatives include simplifying the hiring process, expanding access to jobs through new testing and career centers, and increasing awareness of the Department’s resources and services.

Branding and design have been crucial to communicating these efforts, ensuring bold promises of accessibility, equity, and rewarding opportunities are consistent and effective across all touchpoints.

Media Campaign

Two central challenges shaped the strategy behind the Department’s first-ever agency-wide media campaign.

1. Low Accessibility. To get a state job in the past, it felt like you needed insider information, a secret phone number, or to get on a list and wait for a really, really long time. This lack of accessibility meant that countless qualified New Yorkers never even considered public service as a real employment option.

2. Low Brand Awareness. Historically, the Department of Civil Service operated as a behind-the-scenes, mostly administrative agency. But the Department has since evolved into a modern resource for launching careers in public service.

In order to lead statewide efforts in recruitment and engagement, New Yorkers needed to know what we do, and how we can support their path to public service.

Scalable Brand System

Typographic lockups were created to meet the Department’s two central challenges for this campaign and carry core messaging across billboards, subways, and digital placements.

The campaign paved the way for millions of New Yorkers to access public service jobs.

250+
Creative Assets
Delivered

93%
New Yorkers
18+ Reached

136K
Engagements on
Social Media

1.8MM
New Users to
StateJobsNY

Organic Content

The new brand system easily translated to organic content.

After the launch of the paid campaign, thousands of job applications began streaming in. Jobs were being filled and new roles were opening up rapidly. It was important to sustain the public’s interest to keep checking for new openings and continue applying.

To bolster support for the program and encourage the public to keep applying, we showed the “ideal state” of our customers: receiving a job offer!

Instead of asking: “What do we want to say?” We looked at what our customers were already saying when they called the support line or posted on Reddit.

Brand Messaging Framework

A broader framework created more opportunities for on-brand messaging. These typographic lockups were used to give addtional context to original photography.

Annual Reports

Outreach

Cultural Events

Organized and hosted by the Department, these monthly events celebrate the diverse backgrounds and experiences that New York State’s public servants bring to the workforce. To support these events, I created a simple design system that ensures consistency across each event, while allowing flexibility for variation.

The cohesive identity and elevated design reflect how the gatherings have become more established and professionalized, drawing speakers and attendees from agencies across the state.

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